Ben Simmons wants to leave the Philadelphia 76ers for good, although at this point, there is no guarantee that it's going to happen anytime soon. This week has been packed with drama concerning Simmons as he was kicked out of practice, all before revealing that he has a back injury and isn't mentally prepared to play. At this point, Simmons is doing everything he can do to be kicked off the roster for good, but according to general manager Daryl Morey, the team won't give up.
The GM spoke to Mike Missanelli of 97.5 The Fanatic on Thursday, and he took a hard stance on a potential Simmons trade. Effectively, Morey is going to drag this out as long as he needs to, given the fact that he wants to get as much as he possible can for Simmons, no matter what.
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"You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not, this could be four years," Morey said per Kyle Neubeck. "The conditions I'm pointing out to you don't change. Unless Ben Simmons is traded for a difference-maker, we're in the prime of Joel [Embiid]'s career. We have to get back either Ben Simmons playing well for us, who helps us win the championship, or we have to get back a difference-maker for Ben Simmons. Or this could be four years from now, and we're still like, 'Hey, we took the best shot at it we could.' This could be four years. This is not day-to-day. Every day, we're going to expect Ben Simmons to be back here, or we're trading him for a difference-maker. There's no other outcome that doesn't materially hurt our chance to win the championship in Joel Embiid's prime. We would want him to play and be back starting tomorrow. But if he chooses to take some other path, that's his choice."
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Needless to say, the Sixers are not messing around right now, and they won't be intimidated by Simmons and his representation. While Morey might think this is a good idea, who knows how it may affect the team as the season progresses.
