Daryl Morey Admits On Philly Radio He Could Lower The Simmons Price

Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey went on Philly sports radio 97.5 The Fanatic today to address all of the Ben Simmons trade rumors. He's set a notoriously high asking price for trading his disgruntled guard. But does admit that the MVP-caliber play of Joel Embiid might force him to consider lowering his price. Sort of.

“Joel’s been playing amazing," said Morey. "Now we might be able to do it for a top-40 player who’s a great fit." That enlarges the possible trade pool by a whopping 10 players, as he previously had set a "Top 30" player as his goal.

Morey did admit, however, amongst all the discussions that he's had, one destination has piqued his interest. “…there are deals with the Sacramento Kings that would work.” Hmm. Just yesterday came word that he wasn't interested in a deal to bring in Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes and a first-round pick for Simmons and Tobias Harris.

But when asked about specific offers like that one, Morey scoffed at the rumor mill.

Daryl Morey, speaking about the latest trade rumors, reveals that he monitors some interesting Twitter accounts. pic.twitter.com/jdMZx3OAlp

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 20, 2022

"They have nothing better to do... than to debate fake trade rumors and deals. And it's very frustrating for me, and I'm sure it's frustrating for fans too." 

"Look, we've had conversations with pretty much every team in the league about Ben. I can tell you for a fact that nothing's gotten, at this point, into a range.. And generally they don't get into the range of a possible deal until you get closer to the deadline."

As for the talk about wasting away this superstar season from Embiid if he doesn't make a deal to turn Simmons into some assets?

"People talk about burning away this season if we don't make a trade. But if we make the wrong trade, we're not only burning this season away, we're burning away future seasons as well."

And believe it or not, Morey STILL holds out some hope that Simmons will decide to return to the Sixers. “I 100% believe he could play for us again, and he’d be literally the perfect player for us to pair with Joel Embiid."

That's despite yet another warning yesterday from the Simmons camp that he has no intention of playing for the team ever again.

As for the likelihood of a trade happening before the Feb. 10th deadline?

“I think it’s less likely than likely, but hopefully I’m wrong. It won’t be from lack of trying.”