The Philadelphia 76ers are still trying to trade Ben Simmons, and now there's an interesting wrinkle to these discussions: they want to include Tobias Harris in these talks, per ESPN's Marc J. Spears and Brian Windhorst.
Spears and Windhorst discussed these Sixers trade scenarios on Windy's Hoop Collective podcast. Via RealGM:
“I'm hearing they want to include Tobias Harris,” said Spears of Philadelphia's trade talks with the Atlanta Hawks.
“Me too,” replied Windhorst.
“That is the word out there because they can't necessarily get an All-Star they want in return right now, as the Sixers have continued their talks, they've talked to teams about trading Tobias and Ben.”
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The Hawks are a team that has just recently become prominent in Simmons trade talks as they struggle through the 2021-22 season. While a blockbuster trade could make some sense here, Spears says Atlanta doesn't have interest in taking on Harris in a Simmons deal.
Harris has a massive contract after signing a five-year, $180 million deal in 2019, which makes trading him and Simmons together a rather difficult proposition. The veteran has been something of a disappointment this season. While he's putting up a solid 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, his efficiency is way down, with shooting marks of 45.9% overall and 29.9% from 3-point range.
Windhorst claims some executives have speculated that the Sixers are trying to offload all that Simmons and Harris salary in order to make a run at James Harden in the offseason. There has also been speculation that Philly could keep Simmons past the trade deadline and then try to use him as a sign-and-trade chip to get Harden.
The Ben Simmons trade saga continues with no end in sight, and now Tobias Harris is getting roped into the drama. Stay tuned to see where this goes next.
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