It was only a few months ago that most of the NBA’s spotlight was on the drama between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers. The 25-year-old guard has since sat out the entirety of the season, clearly signalling that he thinks his relationship with the organization is unrepairable. While it seems that Simmons is intent on being moved, there hasn’t really been any progress when it comes to potential trade destinations.
Fortunately, Bovada has released odds to shed some light on the Ben Simmons situation. As of Dec. 8, the sportsbook is projecting three-time NBA All-Star to remain with the 76ers throughout the current campaign at -200 odds.
At the end of the day, it makes sense that a trade might not get done this year. For starters, Simmons has a cap hit of $33 million this season, which is a lot of money for most teams to absorb at this time. After this season is done, he’ll still have three years and about $114 million remaining on his contract. It might be smarter for a team to wait until the offseason to get their salary cap situation straight before they take on that much money.
There’s also the fact that the 76ers may want to wait to maximize his value. They’ll likely never get a “fair value” for Ben Simmons (much like most big-name trades), however, they can likely get a bigger package if they wait until the offseason where more teams will have better cap flexibility.
Unless there’s an offer that Philadelphia can’t refuse, expect Simmons to keep on being a 76er until Summer 2022 at least.
Damian Lillard Wants Ben Simmons in Portland
One of the latest NBA rumors to come out this week was that Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard allegedly wants Ben Simmons to join the team. This isn’t the first time that Simmons has been involved in trade talks to Portland, with rumors dating back to September.
Now, the Trail Blazers have +180 odds to land Simmons before the 2021-22 NBA season is over.
Even though Simmons may not be the best shooter, there’s no questioning how good he is defensively. He’s a two-time All-Defensive First Team player for a reason. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are currently last in the NBA with a 112.9 defensive rating, so it’s easy to see how they desperately need a player of Simmons’ skill set.
On the other hand, it’s tough to imagine what a trade sending Ben Simmons to Portland would look like right now. The rumor is that the 76ers aren’t interested in acquiring C.J. McCollum, which certainly limits the Trail Blazers’ options. Philadelphia was interested in a Simmons-Lillard swap earlier this year, however, that likely won’t happen with the former wanting to play with the latter in Portland.
Maybe the 76ers will change their stance on McCollum one day, however, it doesn’t look like it’ll happen in the near future.
Simmons to the Kings?
Another team that was previously involved in Ben Simmons trade rumors happened to be the Sacramento Kings, who now have +300 odds to land him this season.
The Kings are going through another sub-.500 campaign and a big reason behind that is because guards De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton have both regressed this year by about 5.0 and 2.0 points per game, respectively. The Kings also have the fifth-worst defensive rating (111.1), so it’s safe to say that they could benefit by switching up their backcourt by bringing Simmons in.
From the 76ers perspective, it’d make sense to go after either Fox or Haliburton in a potential trade. The issue here is that the Kings reportedly see both players as “unavailable,” which means the 76ers would have to settle for Buddy Hield and/or even Davion Mitchell if they want a guard back. Unless one of Fox or Haliburton becomes available to be moved, a trade with the Kings may have to wait until the offseason.
Ben Simmons 2021-22 Trade Destination Odds
Odds via Bovada as of Wednesday, December 8
- No trade (-200)
- Portland Trail Blazers (+180)
- Sacramento Kings (+300)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (+400)
- San Antonio Spurs (+500)
- Detroit Pistons (+800)
- Indiana Pacers (+1000)
- Houston Rockets (+1200)
- Toronto Raptors (+1500)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (+2200)
