Ben Simmons to the Kings? Not so fast.
The Kings and Philadelphia 76ers have not spoken on a potential trade involving the 25-year-old three-time NBA All-Star for a few weeks and without Philly coming way down in their price, there really isn’t a need for more conversations, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported on Wednesday.
“According to a source with knowledge of their situation, the Kings spoke to the Sixers weeks ago and made it clear that neither De’Aaron Fox nor Tyrese Haliburton would not be included in a possible Simmons deal,” Amick writes. “That stance, the source said, has not and will not change and the internal expectation is that the core of their roster will remain the same heading into training camp later this month.”
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Fox and Haliburton have never been on the table. A league source confirmed to NBC Sports California that the Kings made an initial offer early in the offseason built around shooting guard Buddy Hield. The Sixers asked for Fox and the conversation ended.
The Kings consider both Fox and Haliburton as cornerstones of the franchise and the team’s starting backcourt moving forward. Adding a player like Simmons would be high on the Kings’ list of wants, but to date, Philadelphia has been unreasonable in their asking price, not just in Sacramento, but around the league.
RELATED: Kings, Blazers favored to land Sixers Simmons via trade
Multiple betting sites, including PointsBet.com, have the Kings as one of the favorites to land Simmons. His defensive acumen and ability to play multiple positions would fit well in Sacramento’s rotation. That’s probably not the safest bet after today’s news.
NBA
The Kings have plenty of assets, including all of their draft picks moving forward. In addition, they have contracts to match up with Simmons, who is owed a little under $147 million over the next four seasons.
It doesn’t take much to reignite conversations, but for now, it appears that the Kings are moving forward with the squad they have. They’ll need to make some adjustments to balance out the roster, but that can happen any time between now and the NBA’s trade deadline in February.
As for Simmons, he told the Sixers that he wants out of Philadelphia as soon as possible and he intended to skip training camp when it begins later this month, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey reported Tuesday.
It appears that everyone is playing hardball in this situation. Simmons wants a new home. Philly has an obscene asking price and the Kings want to acquire talent without breaking up their core.