It is unclear why, exactly, he did this, but Philadelphia 76ers executive Daryl Morey appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philly on Thursday afternoon to discuss the ongoing Ben Simmons saga. Morey sat down with longtime radio personality Mike Missanelli to give an update on how things are going, and made clear that his stance on a potential deal for Simmons has not changed.
Morey went as far as to tell Sixers fans that it would be in their best interest to prepare for this to go one for quite a while, as he does not plan on lowering his asking price on a potential deal, and as of now, the only thing that the team has been able to get back in trade talks is “role players.”
“If we can trade Ben Simmons for a difference maker, we will do it” – @dmorey to @975TheFanatic
He said fans should be prepared to buckle in “for a very long time” because right now he can only trade Ben for role players.
— Harrison Sanford (@HarrisonSanford) October 21, 2021
Morey doubling down on not trading Simmons for role players: “People should buckle in, this is going to go a long time…if we can trade Ben Simmons for a difference maker, we will do it”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) October 21, 2021
In explaining his approach, Morey stressed his commitment to making sure the Sixers are able to maximize their odds of winning a championship while Joel Embiid is in his prime. Then, in what might have been the most startling thing he said in the entire interview, Morey said that he is willing to let this go for the duration of Simmons’ contract, which would be four more years, to make that happen.
Daryl Morey on @975TheFanatic: "Would you rather eliminate what people perceive to be a distraction, or would you rather have better playoff odds? I'll take playoff odds…Whatever we have to deal with that helps the Philadelphia 76ers win the title, we'll do it."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 21, 2021
Morey on his timeline: "You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not. This could (go on for) 4 years. … We're in the prime of Joel's career…Either Ben Simmons is playing for us, or we have to get back a difference maker."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 21, 2021
Morey: “You’re going to think I’m kidding, I’m not, this could take four years…we’re in the prime of Joel’s career…this is not a day to day [issue}]. Every day, we are going to expect Ben Simmons to be back here, or we trade him for a difference maker.”
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) October 21, 2021
All of this comes on the same day that Simmons reportedly went to the Sixers’ practice facility for an individual workout, said he was dealing with back issues, got treatment and the all clear from the team’s training staff, then went home.
