Report Of Celtics’ Interest In Ben Simmons Trade Called ‘Untrue’

A report of the Celtics exploring a trade for available 76ers guard/forward Ben Simmons is “untrue,” a league source told Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.

Boston was linked to Simmons in a report early Monday from Shams Charania of The Athletic, who wrote that any such trade talks would need to involve Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown.

While Murphy’s source refuted Charania’s report, it could also be the comments of someone on the Celtics side who doesn’t want the highly valued Brown to think he’s about to be traded. Brown is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

So as usual with trade rumors, there will be reports and denials, with the truth likely only to be revealed sometime between now and the February trade deadline.

What we do seem to know for certain is that Simmons would like to move on from the Sixers. And it seems that Sixers head of basketball operations Daryl Morey‘s asking price remains high.

The belief around the NBA is that Morey may find a deal more to his liking around Dec. 15, when players who signed offseason deals become eligible to be traded.

Simmons has yet to play a game after arriving to camp late and reportedly telling Morey he is not yet mentally ready to take the court.

“Charania’s latest report includes a number of other details on the standoff between Simmons and the Sixers, including the fact that the 25-year-old has provided the team with the names of his mental health professionals, but hasn’t shared any details on his treatment beyond that,” wrote Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors. “Simmons has turned down the resources and professionals Philadelphia has offered, and the club has been frustrated by the lack of information he has provided about his status.”

Charania did report that talks between the Celtics and Sixers were seemingly exploratory in nature and nothing was close.

Meanwhile, sources have told Hoops Wire they suspect any trade centered on Simmons will involve multiple teams and players, as opposed to being just a straight-up deal. 

As for the Celtics specifically, new head of basketball operations Brad Stevens has said the current roster may not be a finished product.

“We’re going to find out,” Stevens told Michael Holley of NBC Sports Boston. “Last year, we were 8-3 to start the year and it didn’t feel like 8-3 from my perspective, from the (coaching) seat I was in. I felt like we had a lot of things we had to account for and we had to be a lot better in, and then we got hit with other stuff.”

Along with the Celtics, the Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Pacers, Raptors, Pistons and Spurs are some of the teams more recently linked to Simmons.