The Philadelphia 76ers are in Chicago this week at the pre-draft combine. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, teams are utilizing their time spent during the Chicago pre-draft camp to inquire on the Sixers’ interest in trade packages for Ben Simmons. 

According to Woj and his sources, which tend to be pretty reliable, the Sixers remain reluctant on breaking up Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid without maximizing a return package and exhausting all possibilities to improve Ben Simmons’ offensive capabilities. 

Daryl Morey, Elton Brand, and Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul (Klutch Sports CEO) were all a part of the discussions in figuring out the next steps for the 76ers and Ben Simmons. Paul asked the Sixers about if it made sense to work together to find a trade before the start of the NBA season.

To be clear, there was no request to trade Ben Simmons, according to Woj and his sources. It’s expected that both sides will continue to discuss their options ahead of the July 29th NBA Draft and Free Agency in August. 

The 76ers are reportedly committed to keep Simmons has a central piece of their franchise.  Simmons has four years and $147 million left on his contract. On Tuesday, Daryl Morey spoke with the media but didn’t really say much on Ben Simmons specifically. Here’s one quote about the 76ers team as a whole that included Simmons. 

“We have a very strong group we believe in,” Morey said. “None of us can predict the future of what’s going to happen in any, in any place. We love what Ben brings, we love what Joel brings, we love what Tobias [Harris] brings. In terms of what’s next, we’re going to do what’s best for the 76ers to give us the best chance to win the championship with every single player on the roster.”

There’s no doubt that Ben Simmons needs to approve. I’ll spare you the brutal statistics from the Atlanta Hawks series. The entire world knows how badly Simmons played by now. Honestly, this entire report isn’t much of any news. I’m believer that the 76ers will not trade Ben Simmons. 

Why the Sixers won’t trade Ben Simmons >>

For a player like Simmons to be at the lowest point of his career, hopefully he will be willing to make a change and begin to give up control to the 76ers organization. 

The Times They Are A-Changin’ Ben Simmons >>

The key point in all of the talk surrounding Ben Simmons is his willingness to work on his game. Up until this point in his career, reports suggest that he has constantly wanted to do things on his own terms. That option should no longer be available. 

The 76ers organization should be held accountable as well. Corresponding reports suggest that they have “coddled” Ben Simmons in his development. I still have faith. The “Don’t Trade Ben Simmons” campaign is still going strong. There will be a million more reports about him before we actually have answers and I’ll do my best to sort out the nonsense. That is, of course, unless Ryan Conway is writing about Simmons. Then you’ll get a bunch of crazy theories.