Ring that bell, Dejounte Murray..? According to a new report from Marc Stein, Ben Simmons would “welcome” the opportunity to be coached by NBA legend Gregg Popovich and join the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have been rumored to be interested in Ben Simmons for quite some time but to date have been unable to pull off a deal to acquire Simmons from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Honestly, this report is the same old story that we have been hearing for the last six months. Daryl Morey and the Sixers want an all-star for Ben Simmons and the San Antonio Spurs cannot match that type of deal. Kevin O’Connor reported a while ago that the Sixers requested an exorbitant amount of draft picks, but the Spurs declined the offer.

Here’s a quote from the Marc Stein article on his Substack:

“I’ve heard that Ben Simmons would welcome the opportunity to play for Popovich if the Spurs found a way to acquire him. San Antonio’s efforts to crash the trade hunt for Simmons have been well-chronicled, but Philadelphia remains intent on holding out for Portland’s Damian Lillard or another proven All-Star in a Simmons swap. 

While the Spurs clearly don’t have one, it’s nonetheless tantalizing to picture Simmons landing in the Alamo City so Popovich and Chip Engelland, San Antonio’s renowned shooting coach, can lead the cause to rehabilitate the wayward Simmons’ game.”

Yeah, I’m sure Ben Simmons WOULD welcome another opportunity to play for any team that’s not the Philadelphia 76ers. I think that point has been made very clear over and over again. I’m starting to wonder if Ben Simmons would welcome the opportunity to play for a G-League affiliate not named the Delaware Blue Coats too.

I do appreciate the optimism from the San Antonio coaching staff thinking they can rehabilitate Ben Simmons’ jump shot. That’s absolutely adorable and I wish them the best of luck in doing so if a deal does go down. Knowing Philly, Ben will probably get traded eventually and start shooting like he’s the next coming of Steph Curry, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Ben Simmons recently took to Instagram to like a post regarding teaming up in Portland with Lillard. However, the 76ers are uninterested in a deal from the Blazers without Lillard involved or a large number of draft picks. Bradley Beal’s comments lately makes it seem he’s not ready to commit to the Washington Wizards long-term, so maybe there’s an opportunity to explore there?

At this point, I wouldn’t mind getting rid of Ben Simmons for a package that includes Dejounte Murray. At least he can contribute and not do what Ben has been doing all season, which is absolutely nothing.

In the end, it’s unlikely any move occurs anytime soon unless someone folds and meets the 76ers’ demands.

Turn your attention to tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz in South Philadelphia. We have a basketball game to win for christ’s sake.

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