Rival franchises are being dragged into the Ben Simmons saga as a rogue call that shocked the NBA sparked rumours about the Aussie’s future.
Other teams are getting dragged into Ben Simmons’ break-up with Philadelphia as Golden State and Minnesota both make headlines over the NBA star’s request to leave.
Simmons reportedly doesn’t want to play for the 76ers again and is willing to be heavily fined and possibly even suspended for sitting out pre-season camp in an effort to force through a trade.
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Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he wants Simmons to stay and will try everything he can to convince the Aussie to remain in Philly.
It’s not just the 76ers dealing with the fallout from the Simmons saga though. Golden State owner Joe Lacob has been fined $US50,000 ($AUD70,000) for violating the NBA’s anti-tampering rules with comments he made about Simmons to the media.
Lacob told the San Francisco Chronicle the Warriors weren’t looking to recruit Simmons after rumours emerged the two parties could be keen to link up.
“I think we are always looking at everything to see if we can improve our team. We would always look,” Lacob said. “In some ways, (trading for Simmons) doesn’t really fit what we’re doing.
“He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know. He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond (Green). Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking.
“That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”
Minnesota had also been linked with a play for Simmons and on Thursday the NBA world was shocked to hear the Timberwolves had fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, less than two weeks before their first game of the season.
USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt wrote: “The timing on the Rosas decision is odd. Why now just before the season?
“If Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor … wasn’t a fan of Rosas, why did he let him make personnel decisions at the draft and during free agency?”
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns tweeted “WTF” in response to the news, which has sparked plenty of rumours about what it means for a possible pursuit of Simmons.
According to some reports, Rosas wasn’t keen on parting with a big-name player — the likes of which Philadelphia want for any Simmons trade — to secure the 25-year-old’s services. Rosas’ departure has led to suggestions the new leadership in Minnesota — spearheaded by owner Glen Taylor — may be OK with giving away more for Simmons.
However, others in the US are questioning if Rosas planned to trade away too much for Simmons, and the Timberwolves wanted him gone so he didn’t overcommit.
SB Nation’s Brady Klopfer tweeted: I’m not sure what would be more Timberwolves, if after ousting Rosas they promptly trade way too much for Ben Simmons, or if they do literally nothing.”
Ian Kenyon of Bleacher Report wrote: “I could be wrong but the timing of the Rosas firing feels like a disconnect on the Simmons negotiation between Owner and GM.
“There’s no reason to let Rosas run the entire off-season to fire him right before pre-season games start UNLESS it’s due to Rosas not wanting to give up X, Y, Z for Simmons and Taylor basically going rogue on acquiring Simmons. That’s kind of how that looks to me.”
NBA journalist Evan Dammarell added: “With Rosas now out, I feel like the Timberwolves are going to accelerate towards getting Ben Simmons.”
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