The Ben Simmons rumor mill continues to churn as the All-Star guard’s holdout led to him missing his first preseason game on Monday evening. Simmons is still waiting for the Sixers to acquiesce to his demand for a trade, while Philly is continuing to wait for a team to clear the exceedingly high bar it has set for a deal.
Some teams have been tossed around as potential destinations for Simmons, with one squad being mentioned on a few occasions being the Indiana Pacers. Earlier this year, it was reported Philly turned down a return of Malcolm Brogdon and a first for Simmons, while a recent report indicated Indiana is one of the teams that have kept in touch with the Sixers’ front office.
According to Ian Begley of SNY, part of the conversations between the two sides included Indiana mentioning Caris LeVert as a player who would head to the City of Brotherly Love.
League sources confirm that the Pacers are among the teams who have talked to the Philadelphia 76ers about a potential Simmons trade. Caris LeVert was among the players brought up in those communications, per SNY sources.
It is unknown if talks between Philadelphia and Indiana have progressed beyond run-of-the-mill contact.
Indiana is one of the more interesting landing spots for Simmons, as they’re the kind of team that is rarely ever to convince All-Star talent to join in free agency. Simmons, who is under contract for the next four years, would give them that sort of player on a long-term deal, even if the fit would be a bit cumbersome alongside Domantas Sabonis and, should he stick around, Myles Turner. LeVert might not be enough on his own to get Simmons to Indiana, but at the very least, his skillset as a 1-on-1 scorer whose ability to create for himself and others would be interesting alongside Joel Embiid.
