Poll: Ben Simmons trade situation, LB community makes a prediction

We wanted to check in and see where the Liberty Ballers community stood in terms of forecasting this Ben Simmons trade situation. It’s been a long summer of rumors and there isn’t exactly any end in sight. What do we know? Ben Simmons wants a trade. What do we not know? Pretty much everything else. It sounds like the Sixers have taken the public-facing position of basically “we don’t want to trade him and we’re not going to do so just because he wants that.” Where might it land them?

The latest from The Athletic today, courtesy of Sam Amick:

“People who have intimate knowledge of how he sees this situation continue to insist that he’s done playing with Embiid. There’s nothing personal about this choice, it seems, but the 25-year-old Simmons has clearly decided that his career is better off without Embiid blocking the runways in the paint that he so badly needs to succeed.

As he sees it, sources say, the organization’s choice to build its basketball ecosystem around Embiid’s style simply isn’t conducive to the way he needs to play. So while Embiid insisted to reporters on Monday that he wants Simmons back, this much is clear: The feeling is not mutual.

“It has run its course,” the source said of their pairing.”

It’s hard to know what to make of reports like these. Is it precisely how Ben Simmons feels and we can take it at face value? Is it something from Simmons’ camp put out there to help facilitate a trade? Is it something in between? Lending fuel to the fire that Simmons wants a more “clear runway” is a nugget from The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor today.

Per O’Connor:

“League sources say the primary motivation for Klutch Sports’ aggressive holdout is to steer him to a team built around him on offense. No matter the roster makeup in Philly, he will only ever be no. 2 as long as Embiid is healthy.”

Our Steve Lipman has heard the latest and reminds us that Ben Simmons is not the victim here. And who knows, maybe Simmons would agree with that. Maybe Simmons simply wants out of Philadelphia for a handful of reasons.

But Simmons absence is a very loud one. Especially, as the offseason ramps up. Coach Doc Rivers weighed in on how his presence- or lack thereof- hangs over the first day of camp, per LB’s Paul Hudrick:

“I don’t have a reaction to that [report] because Ben’s not here,” Doc Rivers said. “I do believe at some point he will be. If he isn’t, then you’ve got another story. I don’t get caught up on that. Right now I’m going to focus on the guys that are on the floor. That’s more important.”

When pressed, Rivers seemed unmoved by this development in the Simmons saga.

“This is not the first time that guys didn’t think they could play together,” Rivers said. “This is basketball. I don’t think this is any earth-shattering thing to me.”

What do you think? Is it reasonable for the Sixer to expect Simmons back, since he has four years remaining on his contract? Is there any chance he would return to the court? Is it possible this holdout would drag through the NBA trade deadline in the depths of winter? That seems almost unfathomable at this point, but then again, getting to this point without any headway on trades might have too if you asked us in late June.

Let’s have something to look back upon and see how we do as a community of forecasters. Make your voice heard by voting and don’t hesitate to chime in at the comment section if I didn’t do the situation justice with my choices. What’s going to happen here?