Sixers: 5 most likely Ben Simmons trade destinations

Most likely Ben Simmons trade destinations — 4. Sacramento Kings

The Kings are reportedly unwilling to part with De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton in a Simmons trade. Again — we’re back to posturing! I buy the Fox thing, but if the Kings really want Simmons (and that’s a big, important if), there’s no reason Haliburton can’t make it into negotiations at some point. He’s a tremendous young player, but he’s nowhere close to Simmons at this point.

Sacramento makes a lot of sense on paper. Even if the fit is imperfect, the Kings need to take the next step. Fox has been failed by some combination of poor roster construction and a subpar coach his entire career. Sacramento isn’t signing any All-Stars in free agency, and the Kings are quite bad enough to draft players of Simmons’ caliber.

For Sacramento to have an elite defender and secondary facilitator with three consecutive All-Star appearances not only on the roster, but locked up for the next half-decade, would mark significant progress for the organization. As someone who considers Haliburton a real gem, he probably shouldn’t be what keeps them from acquiring Simmons.

The price point for the Sixers’ All-Star is hard to figure out. The Kings only rank this low on the list because of the Haliburton report. If he’s genuinely off the table, then the Kings don’t really have much else. Buddy Hield is drastically overrated by the Sixers fanbase, while Davion Mitchell isn’t a proven enough asset to function as the centerpiece of a Simmons trade.

It feels appropriately Kings-y for Sacramento to blow an opportunity of this magnitude. The Kings should be all over Simmons. You pair Fox with Simmons, and worry about making the other pieces work later. That said, with talks reportedly fizzing out, skepticism about the Kings’ chances is warranted.