Kings not all the way out on Ben Simmons?

While Wojnarowski’s sourcing is impeccable, and the intel likely accurate, are the Kings really out of the running for Simmons? Other executives around the league aren’t so sure. “The Kings needed to walk away because the 76ers were unreasonable in their demands,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “If Philly backs off some, perhaps Sacramento could still make a run at .”
Source: Eric Pincus @ Bleacher Report

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Derek Bodner @DerekBodnerNBA
Would holding on to Ben Simmons actually help the Sixers land James Harden?
Some stray, rambling thoughts in this morning’s newsletter on the latest developments in this strange saga.
dailysix.com/morning-sixers… – 1:07 PM Mike Vorkunov @MikeVorkunov
Nikola Jokic now has 102 games with 10+ assists, which is most ever by a center. Wilt is No. 2; he’s at 80.
Jokic is averaging 9.9 assists over his last 14 games. List of players 6-10 and taller to ever average that many assists over that long a span: Jokic, Ben Simmons, Wilt. – 12:14 PM Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
“When it didn’t work out at the end of the summer, I think you have to move on”
@Hoophall and former #76ers Head Coach Larry Brown tells @talkhoops and @Amin Elhassan how he would have handled the Ben Simmons situation if he was the head coach pic.twitter.com/D8kAAvhdYu – 4:25 PM Ryan McDonough @McDNBA
Tyrese Haliburton is going to be an All Star someday
The Kings are wise to keep him out of any Ben Simmons trade discussions – 9:49 PM Jason Anderson @JandersonSacBee
Kings gameday live: De’Aaron Fox’s status vs. 76ers; Ben Simmons trade talks break down sacbee.com/sports/nba/sac… – 9:11 AM

More on this storyline

While a team can break down a player’s stats from a central database to gauge their value, there’s no such official anti-vax list. “I don’t even know if Ben Simmons is vaccinated,” one Western Conference executive said. Teams tend to be notoriously risk-averse. Add this item to the list of reasons why a deal may not get done. -via Bleacher Report / February 1, 2022 Marc Stein: Sacramento was doing some due diligence on Tobias when it was out there that there could be a deal that involved both Ben and Tobias and I know not this week but earlier this month that I did hear from some teams that suggested that they saw Sacramento as the only team that could realistically get Daryl to move off of his patience stance on Ben because there were indications that the Kings would be willing to take Tobias on if it meant getting Ben now. The Kings have sent so many mixed messages lately. -via marcstein.substack.com / January 29, 2022 Brian Windhorst: I’m talking to teams that are talking to the Sixers, and they’re like, ‘Some of these things that he’s asking for like, we don’t even know what to say. Is he offering something that he knows he won’t take? Like nobody even knows. -via The Ringer / January 28, 2022