Ever since the Philadelphia 76ers’ disappointing playoff exit last year, Ben Simmons’ name has been on the trade block as he and the organization clearly don’t see eye-to-eye anymore.
Simmons has sat out the season to this point as he deals with mental health issues brought on by his feud with the 76ers. He has been hoping for a trade, which is now looking more likely with a number of free agents from last summer becoming trade eligible on Dec. 15.
It will be interesting to see what the 76ers get for Simmons considering he is a great player with obvious flaws. He also still has four seasons remaining on his max contract extension.
The 76ers are said to be looking for a top 25 player in return, although that is unlikely to happen. If they are open to other types of offers then it seems like a ton of teams are interested. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams with interest:
The 76ers are ramping up their efforts to spark multi-team trade scenarios to move Simmons, sources said, and a fresh pool of teams has emerged as potential destinations.
The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers are among the teams interested in Simmons, sources said, although it’s unclear how much traction Philadelphia truly has on any move.
The Lakers likely won’t have the best offer, so acquiring Simmons ahead of the trade deadline seems unlikely. They would either have to include Russell Westbrook or Anthony Davis, and it’s hard to imagine Philly being interested in the former and the Lakers being interested in dealing the latter.
Given Simmons’ ties to LeBron James and Klutch Sports though, it is not all that surprising to see their name in the mix here even if a deal doesn’t make sense both on and off the court.
Lakers also interested in Grant
One other player the Lakers have reported interest in is Detroit Pistons wing Jerami Grant. Considering he isn’t making the full max and isn’t quite the caliber of player Simmons in, that may be a more realistic target for the Lakers as they look for roster upgrades ahead of the deadline.
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