The Boston Celtics have engaged in conversations with the 76ers revolving around Simmons and expressed interest in the 6-foot-11 guard, sources tell The Athletic. Talks have been fluid with no traction as of yet, those sources say. Any potential Simmons deal with the Celtics would have to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, an ascending talent who is in the midst of another career season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists. – via Shams Charania @ The Athletic
Rich Hofmann: The first thing to know about this situation has been that Morey’s asking price has been quite high from the start. There are plenty of people out there who would opine it has been too high, for a player of Simmons’ caliber who is also coming off a postseason that was quite damaging to his reputation as a player. The main piece of leverage that Morey has in this situation is Simmons’ contract, which has four years remaining on it. If Simmons is feeling any sort of disrespect — and in fairness to him, the team did attempt to trade him for James Harden last season, the type of trade scenario that could arise again — Morey is holding onto him because he believes keeping Simmons is better than sub-superstar returns. – via Jay King, Rich Hofmann, Jay King and Rich Hofmann @ The Athletic
Rich Hofmann: Williams is certainly an intriguing piece. An athletic big man like him who can also make plays with the ball in his hands likely holds some decent trade value around the league, probably just not as much in this discussion. The Sixers learned the hard way that you don’t need to pay another center to play behind Embiid. “The hard way,” in this case, currently wears No. 42 for the Celtics. – via Jay King, Rich Hofmann, Jay King and Rich Hofmann @ The Athletic
Rich Hofmann: In general, I think the Sixers are just trying to push this eventual trade out as far as they can. If they can get to the middle of this season, perhaps conditions change around the league as teams start to see the reality of their rosters. It seems that the front office would prefer to use Simmons and their young players/draft capital in return for a star than multiple pieces in return for Simmons. For now, the Sixers are in a weird holding pattern. The rest of the team is playing inspired basketball and selling the image of a tight-knit group that is willing to sacrifice for the greater good. The absence of Simmons throughout all these good vibes and made 3-point shots is, um, notable. Despite all the potential awkwardness, the Sixers still want Simmons to play for them. Stevens being in the front office adds a fun wrinkle to this, but as long as he stays patient, I’m not sure I presently see a trade at this point between these two old rivals. – via Jay King, Rich Hofmann, Jay King and Rich Hofmann @ The Athletic
Mark Murphy: Per league source: Report of Celtics discussing trade with Philadelphia for Ben Simmons is “untrue.” – via Twitter Murf56
