Danny Green is returning to the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $20 million deal. Green was a key cog in the Sixers' lineup last season, so bringing him back was a priority.
Sixers president Daryl Morey took to Twitter Wednesday night with some reaction to the news, and in the process he seemed to hint at Ben Simmons' future with the franchise as well:
— Daryl MorΞy 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) August 5, 2021
Morey's tweet features lineup data from this past season. Philly's starting lineup of Simmons, Green, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Seth Curry was one of the very best in the NBA during the regular season. It helped them earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference
Things obviously didn't go well in the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, with Simmons' struggles in the fourth quarter well-chronicled at this point. Simmons' playoff failures sparked trade speculation, but this tweet sure seems to signal that Morey believes in his starting group and is fine running it back for the 2021-22 season.
The Sixers' trade demands for Simmons would seem to reflect this. They're looking for an absolutely monster return for the Aussie's services, and one it seems nobody is willing to put on the table. A Simmons trade isn't totally out of the question if the right deal is offered, but as of right now, it doesn't look like that right deal will be on the table this offseason.
This obviously could all change once we get deeper into the offseason and all the top free agents are off the board. Perhaps a desperate team comes calling with that Godfather offer that Daryl Morey can't refuse.
But as of this moment, it looks like Ben Simmons will be back in Philly. If Morey does actually trade him after putting this tweet out there, it would be pretty cold, but that's the business. Perhaps he's trying to do it as a leverage play in an attempt to raise the value of his player.
Stay tuned!
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