76ers executive Daryl Morey says ‘less likely than likely’ Ben Simmons is traded before deadline

With the NBA trade deadline less than three weeks away, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told the team’s fans not to get their hopes up about a trade involving disgruntled former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons.

“I think it’s less likely than likely, but hopefully I’m wrong,” Morey said in an interview with 97.5 The Fanatic on Thursday afternoon, via PhillyVoice.

Simmons, 25, is a three-time NBA All-Star and a valuable piece for the 76ers, but it appears unlikely that he’ll ever play for the team again. He hasn’t played a game with Philadelphia since the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals and requested a trade in the offseason.

“Look, it won’t be from lack of trying,” Morey said of a potential Simmons trade. “We have a whole team of front office [personnel], it’s all we do. We have no other job that matters, it’s all we’re working on. And I only say less likely, it won’t be because we don’t want to do it, it will be because for whatever reason, I mean I can tell you that these other 29 teams, none of them wake up and say, hey, today, how can I help the 76ers get better? They’re all worried about their own teams. 

“The main reason I say less likely than likely is it takes two or three to tango. Trades are not easy to construct in this league, there’s a lot of risk aversion, there’s a lot of decision-makers that have to be hurdled.”

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. ET. Last week ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said there has been “no movement” on a deal involving Simmons.