‘Not a bluff’: Bitter Ben Simmons trade saga heats up

The Ben Simmons trade saga seems to get messier by the day as an NBA expert revealed which team “most wants” the Aussie.

Where will Ben Simmons end up? (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The bitter Ben Simmons contract saga rages on.

Simmons wants out of the Philadelphia 76ers after copping a barrage of criticism for his lacklustre performances in last season’s Eastern Conference semi-finals against Atlanta, where his unwillingness to shoot was on full display.

But the Sixers are reportedly continuing to demand a king’s ransom in return for releasing the 25-year-old Australian from his contract.

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According to Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times, the team is now resigned to holding on to Simmons as a result of their failure to receive an attractive trade offer.

The 76ers are reportedly not willing to accept a deal centred around future draft picks and want a genuine All-Star to replace Simmons. After failing to strike a deal, Philadelphia is of the belief its best option is to hold Simmons to his contract, even if it means fining him as much as $308,000 per day if he fails to show up for pre-season training.

But remaining in Philly simply isn’t an option for Simmons. Speaking on the The Gastroenteritis Blues podcast, NBA writer for The Athletic, Jon Krawczynski, warned Simmons’ push for a trade was no bluff.

“(Simmons) is a guy that is aware of the dynamics around him,” Krawczynski said. “He knows that Philly fans can’t wait to boo him on opening night … but more so he knows that in the moment of truth in the playoffs his coach did not have his back and his star teammate kind of sort of a little bit threw him under the bus as well.

“And now maybe he deserves some of that criticism but that’s just the nature of it now. Those are the relationships that have been broken and he wants to go.

“I don’t think this is a bluff on his part. I don’t think that Klutch (Simmons’ management) is making idle threats.”

Teammate Joel Embiid was accused of throwing Simmons under the bus after the Sixers’ playoffs exit. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America/AFP.

Reports in US media have suggested Simmons is eyeing a trade to a California-based NBA team but Krawczynski has also thrown the Minnesota Timberwolves’ hat in the ring.

“I think he would play in Minnesota. That’s my understanding,” he said.

“He is from the same high school as D’Angelo Russell … he and (Karl Anthony-Towns) are friendly. He has those relationships.

“It really has not much to do in terms of my belief that (76ers boss) Daryl Morey would reduce his asking price or that a deal is on the brink of happening, I don’t think we’re there at all. But I do think it has more to do with the circumstances of the market right now …. I think that the Wolves are the team that most want Ben Simmons.

“My statement that where I feel stronger about the Wolves today than I did a couple weeks ago has much more to do with the market itself … I think that they’re in better position because a market hasn’t materialised.”

Simmons’ relationship with Philadelphia is broken despite having four years and a whopping AUD$147 million remaining on his deal.

The team’s U-turn to hold Simmons to his contract — for now — appears a recipe for disaster with the bad blood looking impossible to overcome.

The saga has led to stinging criticism for both parties, with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal hammering the Aussie basketball star earlier this month.

Barkley said he was disappointed in Simmons taking a $270 million contract from the Sixers while “sulking” about wanting to leave when things got difficult.