Trading Robert Covington for Ben Simmons Would be a Mistake

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Graphic created by Torey Jones and KrishGraphics

Ben Simmon’s future in Philadelphia has been the story of the NBA offseason. The latest development in this summer-long saga came Tuesday when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Simmons had told the Philadelphia 76ers that he “intends to never play another game for the franchise”. While this was to be expected, it puts Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey in a precarious position. After demanding an outrageous return for a disgruntled star who wants out, Simmons is now playing hardball in order to force Morey to act.

For every new development in the Simmons-saga, the reaction on the internet is fascinating to watch. While this has been a major story for fanbases across the league, it’s especially interesting to watch the discourse amongst Blazer fans, who, as usual, can’t seem to agree on anything. The perception of Simmons is vastly different amongst the fanbase, which has led to numerous arguments about whether or not Neil Olshey should trade C.J. McCollum for the estranged forward, and how many picks should be attached in such a deal. However, a new “rumor” has opened up another line of discussion that we should all be able to agree on.

Notable news-breaker Stephen A. Smith shared this tidbit on his ESPN show “First Take”:

“The Portland Trail Blazers, from what I’m told, obviously, they’re talking about C.J. McCollum. They’re talking about Robert Covington, they’re talking about a couple of first-round picks, they don’t want to put it out there because you don’t want to alienate C.J. McCollum in the event that you keep him, but nevertheless, is something that they’ve been willing to offer. The Sixers have not been willing to buy right now. The Sixers are holding their feet to the fire, because they don’t want to give in and cave in, and set a bad precedent by moving somebody who makes a demand to be moved when he still has four years left on his contract. That is the situation going on with the Philadelphia 76ers right now.”