Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey gave his end-of-season press conference on Tuesday after the Sixers' playoff debacle against the Atlanta Hawks. Naturally, Morey was faced with a bunch of questions about Ben Simmons and his future.
Morey refused to throw Simmons under the bus, but he was predictably coy when it came to committing to the youngster for next season:
Daryl Morey asked if he will commit to Ben Simmons being here moving forward. “We’re committed to this group, this is a really good group.”
Says they have a good foundation and other teams envy them
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 22, 2021
Morey asked once again if he’ll commit to Ben specifically being here next year. “We have a very strong group we believe in. None of us can predict the future of what’s going to happen.” Reiterates they’ll look at any move to get better
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 22, 2021
While Morey vaguely committed to the “group,” he wouldn't commit specifically to Simmons and admitted that nobody knows just what the future holds when it comes to potential big moves. The Sixers president also addressed Simmons' shooting woes and his role but was similarly vague:
Morey asked if it’s time for the Sixers to move Simmons to forward to potentially have a point guard on the floor with him: “I think that’s frankly a better question for Doc.”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 22, 2021
Morey on whether he thinks Simmons will work with shooting specialists, as one example, that the team recommends: “My understanding is that Ben, just like all our players, is all in on the organization…I believe and we expect for the players to do whatever is necessary”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 22, 2021
Most people believe Morey will look to move Simmons after yet another playoff flameout. The Sixers star was totally invisible offensively when it mattered and was historically bad from the foul line. His infamous pass out of a dunk late in Game 7 could very well have been the last straw, with Joel Embiid even throwing him under the bus for the play after the game.
However, it's not a guarantee that Morey trades Simmons. He's negotiating from a position of weakness after this playoff failure, so perhaps there's no deal out there. The Sixers will want a star-level player back in a trade in order to compete for a title with Joel Embiid. The CJ McCollum suggestion is a reasonable one, but it's not clear if that's something on the table right now.
Ben Simmons trade speculation will be a hot storyline all offseason. Daryl Morey predictably didn't tip his hand, but one has to think he'll be aggressive after such a letdown in the postseason.
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