Ben Simmons is still under the control of the Philadelphia 76ers just days away from the February 10 NBA trade deadline, and it's looking like he's not going to be somewhere else until at least the end of the 2021-22 season. While nothing has been completely ruled out in terms of Simmons' fate before the deadline, the Sixers seem to be more likely to make moves on two of their players.

Via Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report:

As the deadline nears, Philadelphia brass are instead expected to focus on marginal improvements to their roster around MVP front-runner Joel Embiid. Philadelphia has clear needs for supplementary ball-handling and rebounding—two of the largest holes created by Simmons' season-long absence. Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe are the 76ers players most often mentioned as trade candidates by rival executives.

It would be a huge shot in the arm for the Sixers if Simmons ends up playing this season for them, but with that not looking like a possibility, Philly could just make minimal adjustments on their roster via trades in order to supplement what they've been lacking on the floor during the absence of the embattled point-forward.

Joe is only earning $1.517 million this season and could get up to $1.782 in the 2022-23 campaign. It's also the same contractual situation with Reed. Those are two dispensable salaries the Sixers could use on a mundane deal that could end up spelling the difference between them making a deep run in the playoffs and an early exit.