The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in the playoffs and coming off a dominant victory over the Brooklyn Nets to even up their first-round playoff series at 1-1. Who would have thought that a few months back, general manager Elton Brand was actually looking to tear the team's core apart by trading away young star Ben Simmons?
This is according to Chris Sheridan of the New York Daily News:
A source who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity said general manager Elton Brand made it known to ownership sometime before the trade deadline that the organization needed to consider trading Simmons because the youngster was simply not coachable, and was a regular-season player annually exposed in the playoffs.
This is a pretty bold claim not only because it allegedly exposes Brand's (foiled) plan to ship out his young superstar, but more importantly, it puts Simmons in a very bad light. While he may be seen by some as a mild-mannered individual who likes to keep his head down, this new bit of information paints an entirely different picture of the 23-year-old.
Others in Philly's management apparently had no intentions of trading away their highly bankable star, and reportedly ordered Brand to drop his idea immediately:
The idea was immediately shot down, and Brand was told that Simmons and Embiid were untouchable – even if Anthony Davis was the prize.
This story comes out at a less-than-ideal time for the Sixers as they face the Nets in the playoffs. There is no doubt that the team has been made aware of this rather uninspiring storyline, and it will be interesting to see how the Sixers react to this.
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