NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski indicated that there is “no movement” in the Ben Simmons trade saga — and there likely won’t be any until the 2022 NBA Draft.
Persistent since last summer, the Ben Simmons trade rumors kicked up a notch in December, when Dec. 15 opened the door to more trade possibilities for the sidelined point guard.
Despite this, NBA fans will likely be waiting until Summer 2022 for any Ben Simmons trade to truly materialize.
Speaking on ESPN’s NBA Today, Adrian Wojnarowski laughed as he reiterated to Malika Andrews that a Ben Simmons trade is unlikely to come anytime soon.
“Malika, there is no movement,” Wojnarowski said. “And listen, we may be in this situation until all the way until the NBA Draft.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: Likely “no movement” on Ben Simmons trade until 2022 NBA Draft
The rumors about Ben Simmons trade packages seem to fluctuate day by day, as reports earlier this week indicated that the 76ers are interested in attaching Tobias Harris to potential Simmons trade packages.
Even Kyle Kuzma seems skeptical of any Harris/Simmons deal, wondering aloud how to “package 80 million.”
Simmons himself seems unbothered about the status of his trade, instead, focusing on his personal life. Simmons proposed to girlfriend and British television host Maya Jama earlier this week while Joel Embiid is “fighting for his life”, as one Twitter user put it.
As Simmons has moved on from his team in spirit, so have they from him. The 76ers are currently playoff contenders with the fifth spot on the Eastern Conference, thanks to the efforts of Embiid and his teammates.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick has just released more insight into Simmons’ potential return and trade destinations, but 2022 remains up in the air for the young point guard. As Wojnarowski notes, it could be nearly one year after Simmons announced his interest in a trade that a trade could finally materialize.