Report: 76ers have increased asking price for Ben Simmons, no movement on trade

The reported consensus expectation within the NBA: The 76ers will likely trade Ben Simmons before the trade deadline.

However, less than a month until the Feb. 10 deadline…

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

There is no movement. And listen, we may be in this situation all the way until the NBA draft.

The kind of players available to them in a Ben Simmons trade – a Harrison Barnes in Sacramento, Domantas Sabonis Indiana, and, listen, John Collins in Atlanta – that’s not going to move the needle at this point for Ben Simmons.

Some teams have even described the Sixers’ asking price for a Simmons’ deal as growing in price -- not declining, sources told ESPN.

It’s difficult to confirm no teams are progressing on a Simmons trade. Just because most teams are stalled doesn’t mean one team isn’t gaining traction. That’s all it takes to make a deal. But if any reporter can credibly offer this widespread assessment, it’s Wojnarowski.

The 76ers have demanded a star in exchange for Simmons and so far not gotten that offer. They’ve also lost leveraging with Simmons avoiding fines while still not playing. This is a heck of a time for Philadelphia to raise its asking price.

76ers president Daryl Morey said the standoff could last four years. That sounded like posturing.

But he’s also showing plenty of indicators he won’t rush into a deal, not even with the trade deadline approaching.