Ben Simmons has been the main figure for trade talk this season. He’s refused to play for the Philadelphia 76ers and it doesn’t look like that’s ever going to change.

In most recent reports, sources close to Simmons are saying that he is willing to sit out all season if they don’t move him by the deadline (February 10th).

Pressure is beginning to rise for 76ers GM Daryl Morrey to find a deal.

It’s been a back and forth battle between Daryl Morrey and Ben Simmons throughout the media, but they’ve both held strong. Daryl says he won’t trade Ben unless it involves another All-Star Caliber player and haul of draft picks. And then you have Ben Simmons’ army saying that he’s willing to go MIA for the whole season.

Will Ben Simmons play or will the 76ers trade their former #1 pick?

In my eyes, If Daryl Morrey wants to keep his MVP candidate happy  – then he must make a deal this season. There’s no more trusting the process in Philly… They need to win now. With the right pieces, the 76ers could turn themselves into title contenders.

One interesting trade scenario came to mind as rumors have recently flared and the deadline approaches.

A three-team trade between the 76ers, Pacers, and Kings

 

Three-team deals are always less likely to happen as you have to make all teams happy, but anything is possible! Just think of the James Harden four-team blockbuster trade last year. It has been made evident that each of these teams are willing to move their stars, so why not try and work something out together.

• Philadelphia: The 76ers pretty much have to trade Ben Simmons because of his demands (This means they may end up getting the short end of the stick).
• Indiana: It simply has not worked out between their four key players Brogdon, Levert, Sabonis, and Turner. So Indiana has decided to focus more on a rebuild at this point.
• Sacramento: Sacramento is looking to make a push for the playoffs and improve toward the deadline and they have pieces that they are willing to let go of.

The Trade

 

This trade scenario would involve Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley, as well as some draft picks sent over to Philadelphia, Ben Simmons taking his talents to Indiana, and Domantas Sabonis & Caris Levert landing in Sacramento.

The trade works out financially for all teams, but is it the right move for each team?

 

Philadelphia 76ers

 

Philly GM Daryl Morrey recently gave out some information regarding the Ben Simmons situation on a podcast.

“I do think there’s gonna be a lot of movement around this Feb. deadline,” said Morey, “and [if] something makes sense for the Sixers obviously we’re gonna do that…. regardless if it’s sort of the big trade involving Ben people are expecting or something, we would like to add to this team.”

He went on to say,

Morey: “It has happened that someone playing as well as Embid has won the title so I do absolutely believe this team even without any changes has a chance. It’s not as good a chance as any of us want…. It’s not where I’d like to be. I’d like to be at least in the top 5 in the league. We’re just outside of that.”

If Philly were to make this deal, they get a slight improvement on their current roster (I don’t exactly think this would make them a top 5 team though). But they also do it without giving up anything (because Ben Simmons isn’t going to play). After all, something is better than nothing right?

Maybe it’s not exactly the All-Star level player Daryl Morrey was looking for in return for Simmons, but adding some scoring depth and draft picks to Philly will help them loads more than dealing with an unhappy Max-Contract player that is sitting out games and has completely tarnished his reputation here – it’s just over for Ben Simmons in Philly… he simply cannot put on a 76ers uniform at this point.

Buddy Hield would be best utilized coming off the bench, but he could also be incorporated into the starting lineup. He’s had seasons averaging close to 20 PPG and he’s always shot around 40% from three. Buddy is someone Philly could really use. They rank nearly last in the league at 28.6 PPG off the bench. They also add Marvin Bagley, the young former #3 pick who is eager to revitalize his career in a new environment.

Indiana Pacers

 

Recent reports from Shams of the Athletic have entailed that the Pacers have openly placed at least of three of their key starters on the market.

In need of a new direction amid a 10-16 start to the season, the Indiana Pacers are moving toward a substantial rebuild and are expected to open up trade conversations around some of their veteran stalwarts, sources tell The Athletic.

Multiple sources said that the Pacers are receptive in trade dialogue with rival teams centered on potentially moving guard Caris LeVert and either two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis or center Myles Turner. All three players have frequently garnered significant interest from rival teams.

So in this trade scenario, Indiana takes the risk and picks up Ben Simmons.

Ben Simmons is still only 25 years old, one of the top five defenders in the league (arguably the best), an all-around great playmaker, and still has an ounce of potential to improve his jump shot. Indiana already has loads of depth and shooters, which is exactly what Ben Simmons needs to be surrounded with. Here, he can be the focal point like he wants and he should be able to fully control this team.

So in a sense, the Pacers don’t even have to consider themselves moving toward a true rebuild with this move. I believe that they make a slight improvement getting a player that will work well with the roster they currently have.

Yeah okay, they aren’t competing for a championship with this team, but they could work with what they’ve got over the next few years in Indiana. You’re looking at a lineup of Brogdon, Duarte, TJ Warren, Ben Simmons, and Turner when fully healthy.

Sacramento Kings

 

Finally, the Sacramento Kings receive Domantas Sabonis and Caris Levert in this deal.

Sources at the Sacramento Bee recently dropped this information;

A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings have stepped up their pursuit of Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis and they are willing to include Fox in those discussions. Fox was so far off the table he wasn’t discussed when the Kings approached the Philadelphia 76ers about Ben Simmons last summer, sources with knowledge of the talks told The Bee, but now Fox is reportedly part of those conversations as well.

While I don’t believe Fox would be a part of this deal, someone like Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley seems much more likely.

The Kings would certainly improve the most in the present moment with this trade. Adding Sabonis and Levert into the mix here would be an instant improvement without actually losing much. The Kings have already given up hopes on Marvin Bagley, so letting him go isn’t an issue. The Kings also have already discussed trading Buddy Hield in the past, so swapping him for a player like Caris Levert would work out fine.

In return, the Kings are getting one of those most underrated bigs in the league – Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis is averaging 19 PPG, 11.9 RPG, and 4.9 APG and this is a down year for him. He was putting up Jokic type numbers last season. He is a physical force down low and can make plays all around the floor as a screen setter or passer.

Not only that, but they add a legit 20 PPG shot-creating forward in Caris Levert who would be perfectly placed in a role as a 6- man.

 

Some may consider this a desperate move for the 76ers, but they need to make a deal before the February 10th trade deadline.