Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey made clear Thursday that he does not see the Ben Simmons saga ending anytime soon.

Morey appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic’s “The Mike Missanelli Show” and advised listeners to “buckle in,” as the 76ers were unwilling to trade Simmons for role players. Morey even alluded to Simmons’ contractual situation by saying it could be a four-year process.

To be clear, this isn’t likely to last four years. Morey is simply laying things out in public. It’s as much a negotiating ploy as anything else. The Sixers do not want to trade Simmons for spare parts. The hope may be that digging in publicly will show teams how serious they are about demanding stronger offers.

It certainly sounds like, in a perfect world, the 76ers would prefer to be done with Simmons themselves. Whether they get an offer they feel is worth pursuing remains to be seen.

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