The Philadelphia 76ers front office has committed to the development of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for the upcoming season. The duo hasn't been able to achieve true greatness in the postseason so far, which has called for many spectators to assume that one of the two Sixers stars would be traded soon.
Those talks heated up on Thursday after Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Ben Simmons was in fact available in trade talks surrounding James Harden.
General manager Daryl Morey was quick to extinguish those fires as soon as they emerged, and Doc Rivers made sure to smooth things over with Simmons as well:
“I don't get into all that,” Doc Rivers said when asked on Friday about having to reaffirm Simmons in his future with the Sixers, per Rich Hoffman of The Athletic. “I can tell you that none of this is started from us. I gave Ben a call last night, but I'm not going to share what was said. It's unfortunate, but it's part of our business. And it is what it is.”
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Sixers were going to hold off on trading for Harden until they saw what the Simmons-Embiid duo could do this season under Rivers. There was a widespread belief that the front office wouldn't be doing Simmons–who's the coveted piece for Houston in exchange for Harden–any justice by prematurely trading the guard so soon.
Those reports conflicted with Wojnarowski's report on Friday that Ben Simmons was on the table in exchange for James Harden.
All in all, Harden may have to hit the pause button on leaving Houston at the moment. While his talent is undeniable, most GMs are apparently hesitant on making a move for the former MVP given his chemistry issues and superstar treatment.
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