Report: Sixers Prefer to Wait to Pursue James Harden

Philadelphia Sixes' fans wanted Ben Simmons traded yesterday, but with the NBA trade deadline is just over three weeks away, I don't expect those fans to get their wish.

If you ask me my opinion, Ben Simmons will be a Sixer after the deadline, that doesn't mean he will actually play for the team this season.

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With an pretty unexciting trade market for Simmons' services, expect Daryl Morey to hold on to Simmons and wait to see if he can reel in a bigger fish this offseason. Morey was pretty open in a recent interview on Philadelphia station 97.5 The Fanatic, saying that there's a "very good chance" that Simmons will not be traded ahead of the February 10 deadline.

As multiple outlets have reported, the Sixers have their sites set on James Harden and that has been echoed on Monday by Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic. .

But multiple sources, including people with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking and also from rival teams involved on the Simmons front, tell The Athletic that the 76ers are believed to prefer to wait in order to pursue Harden or another superstar in the offseason and thus want to save Simmons for that potential sign-and-trade rather than take what’s available on the current market.

The Sixers remain steadfast that they receive a top-level All-Star or multiple first-round draft picks for Simmons per Charania and Amick.

So what does ownership think of holding on to Simmons' past the deadline and going into the offseason with him on the roster?

Seems like Morey has the full support of Josh Harris, per the report.

Sources say Morey has full support of ownership to take this situation beyond this deadline and into the summer, with the internal belief that they simply must prioritize Embiid’s prime over the course of next several years rather than act too quickly because of this season’s stakes.

We know the Kings and Hawks have had the most recent interest and the new report from Charania and Amick mention the Charlotte Hornets as a potential new suitor for Simmons, but there’s been nothing substantive, per the report.

Can things change in the next three weeks?  Sure.  A team can get desperate and injury can change the thinking of an organization.  However, if I were to guess, Simmons will be here past the deadline, with the team will trying to move him in the offseason.