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Ben Simmons
Former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons could use a fresh start. After a down year with the Brooklyn Nets, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley proposed a trade that would give Simmons just that and an opportunity to showcase him being the player he once was.
Buckley proposed the following trade between the Nets and San Antonio Spurs.
Spurs receive: Simmons, 2025 Nets Second-Round Pick (Protected 31 through 27), 2028 Nets Second-Round Pick, 2027 Sixers First-Round Pick (Top-8 protected)
Nets receive: De’vonte Graham, Doug McDermott, Reggie Bullock
Buckley explained why the Spurs could use Simmons and why Simmons would thrive on that team.
“San Antonio has both the financial flexibility to take on his contract and maybe the perfect player to help him thrive in Victor Wembanyama, whose ability to stretch the floor and create on the perimeter as a 7’5″ big could widen lanes for Simmons to attack,” Buckley wrote.
The Spurs are starting a new era of basketball with Wembanyama at the helm. With Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Keldon Johnson surrounding him, the Spurs could use a playmaker like Simmons to help the young players learn how to win.
Ben Simmons Calls Philadelphia a ‘Second Home’
Though Simmons’ tenure with the Sixers did not end on a good note, he revealed that he considers Philadelphia a second home while saying that if he had the choice, he would go back to play for the Sixers if put back on the trade market.
“People always ask me like, ‘If you were to get traded again, where you want it to be?’ I always say, ‘Just Philly. Philly is a second home to me,’” Simmons said in an August 29 story by Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “And in time, you learn and grow as people. I don’t really have anything bad to say about Philly. It was a crazy situation at the end, but it is what it is.”
Simmons made it clear that despite everything that went down, he’ll always appreciate the city of Philadelphia.
“I had a lot of fun there. It was time for me to go. When I did leave, it was good timing. Obviously, the injury and everything that was going on didn’t help. But I think it gave me a chance to really appreciate it. I’ll always have love for Philly,” Simmons said, according to Spears.
James Harden on ‘Same Page’ With Stars: Report
Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill reported that James Harden has been in touch with Los Angeles Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George during the trade drama with the Sixers.
“What I’ve heard is that, hey, James has been in conversation with Paul and Kawhi, and they’re all kind of on the same page,” Goodwill said on the August 26 episode of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast.
Nothing is official until it is official, but Harden talking with George and Leonard signifies that he, at the very least, wants to team up with them and is not afraid to let people know. The pivotal questions that remain are will the Sixers grant his request to be traded there, and what will they get back for him if they do?
Matt John covers the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics for Heavy.com. A Massachusetts native, he has covered the NBA since 2018, with stops at FanSided, Basketball News and Basketball Insiders. More about Matt John
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