Despite the fact that Ben Simmons has returned to Philadelphia to rejoin his team, the Sixers are still keeping their options open. In spite of the apparent change of heart, the Sixers know how Simmons truly feels about playing for Philly, which is why trading him away still remains to be a real option for the team.

Another star that has been embroiled in a controversy of a similar magnitude is none other than Kyrie Irving. The Brooklyn Nets superstar's refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine has put him in all sorts of trouble.

If you look at these two situations hand-in-hand, it does seem like a Simmons-for-Irving trade makes sense for both teams. At this point, however, it does not sound like the Sixers have any interest in Kyrie. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Philly refuses to touch Irving with a 10-foot pole at the moment:

“One thing is for sure — at least for now. While an Irving trade for Ben Simmons with Philadelphia is seen by some as an easy solution to both teams’ problems, sources with knowledge of the 76ers’ view said there is no interest in Irving at the moment. From management on down, it seems there is an unsurprising level of skepticism about that pairing working out any better than the Joel Embiid-Simmons duo that is zombified at the moment.”

On Tuesday, the Nets announced that they won't be allowing their All-Star point guard to play for the team unless he is a “full participant.” This was a major bombshell from the team and it pretty much put Kyrie Irving's future with the squad in limbo. Brooklyn is virtually saying that unless he gets vaccinated, then Kyrie won't be playing at all this season.

The Sixers are well aware of Irving's situation. There's no denying that they have been doing everything they can to try and find an amenable trade partner for their want-away star. Clearly, though, they aren't that desperate.