The Golden State Warriors had an opportunity to acquire Ben Simmons from the Philadelphia 76ers this week but ultimately decided to pass.
Over the past few days chatter had intensified regarding a possible trade being worked out between Golden State and Philadelphia. On paper it made sense. Unfortunately, in reality it ended up being a little too difficult. The key problem proved to be the Sixers’ asking price for Simmons.
According to Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer, the Sixers wanted “Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, the Nos. 7 and 14 picks in tonight’s NBA draft along with two future first-rounders.” That was too much for the Warriors.
During a recent session on ESPN, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski acknowledged that the Sixers were looking for a king’s ransom for Simmons.
“The Sixers have been canvassing around the league, and they are asking for a massive return for Ben Simmons,” he said. “One GM described it to me as Harden-esque, similar to what Houston wanted in the talks that led to them trading [James] Harden to Brooklyn.”
It will be interesting to see how this situation ultimately develops. Obviously there are five teams that are very interested in adding Simmons. But each one has drawn a line in the sand regarding what they aren’t willing to sacrifice to make a trade happen.
Will Philly ultimately be able to find a middle ground with someone and get a deal done? Time will tell.
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