Breaking: Shams Charania of 'The Athletic' reveals Charlotte Hornets interest for 76ers guard, Ben Simmons

Trade talks about Ben Simmons continue to circulate the internet, with the Charlotte Hornets being the newest addition to the Simmons trade pool. With so many organizations expressing interest or offering a trade package to the 76ers, it seems as though Simmons will never be traded. General manager Daryl Morey has made it clear to the rest of the NBA that he is unhinged about his value towards Simmons and is willing to wait as long as he needs to find the right trade.

Many teams have tried to trade for the former All-Star and failed due to Morey's exaggerated fantasy of Simmons's value in the NBA. Some of the names that have been offered to the 76ers for Ben Simmons throughout the off-season and regular-season include Jaylen Brown, D'Angelo Russell, De'Aaron Fox and more. Almost every trade offer that the 76ers received would have improved the roster. They would have someone available to play games and contribute to wins. The Simmons trade saga continues to sweep the NBA community as every one of us wonders if Simmons is traded this season.

According to a report by Shams Charania and Sam Amick of 'The Athletic,' they reveal that the Charlotte Hornets is the newest team to express interest in Simmons. The quote below is sourced from an article written by Adam Hermann of 'NBC Sports.'

"The Charlotte Hornets have been among new teams placing a Simmons inquiry to the 76ers, but there's been nothing substantive, sources said. In return for Simmons, the 76ers have wanted a top-level All-Star or a package featuring a bevy of first-round draft picks for Simmons."

The Hornets expressing any form of interest for Simmons is odd. They have a star pupil at the point guard position in LaMelo Ball. Ball is a rising superstar in the NBA and is currently the face of the franchise. With Morey's inflated assessment of Simmons' value in the NBA, he would likely only demand Ball in return for Simmons which, would never happen!

Charlotte is one of the youngest teams in the NBA that can be one of the best teams in the league. This season, the Hornets rank seventh in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-21. They are only two games behind the fifth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and hope to make a strong playoff push before the season ends. In other words, the Hornets are a good team in the Eastern Conference and are headed towards becoming an elite team in the next few seasons. However, by the Hornets expressing interest in trading for Simmons, it appears that Charlotte might want to become an elite team this season. Simmons is one of the best playmakers and defenders in his position and the entire league. The duo of Simmons and Ball could, in theory, be an entertaining duo to watch but, the fit of Simmons on the Hornets is awkward unless he is willing to play a forward position.

When assessing the Hornet's interest in Simmons, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is, placing LaMelo Ball at the shooting guard. However, Ball is a natural point guard and impacts the game in other ways beyond scoring the basketball. His natural position is playing point guard. The last thing the Hornets want to do is replicate what the Sacramento Kings did with Tyreke Evans. Evans won rookie of the year in the 2010 season and was looked at as one of the next up incoming guards in the NBA. His rookie season was historical as his stat-line for his first season in the NBA was 20 PTS, 5.8 AST, 5.3 REB and 1.5 STL on 46% field goal shooting. Evans's career would never match his rookie season due to the Kings constantly switching his position. While Ball is a much better player than prime Evans, the Hornets need to assess if trading Simmons would hinder or slow down the development of Ball.

If the Hornets trade for Simmons, they need to ensure that Ball is not involved in the trade. For the Hornets to realistically trade for Simmons, the following trade would most likely be offered if Ball is not involved.

Charlotte receives- Ben Simmons and Furkan Korkmaz.

Philadelphia receives- Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, P.J Washington, and 2027 unprotected first-round pick.

The Hornets have a lot of assets to trade as they could offer a variety of different packages to get Simmons without including Ball. However, from a realism standpoint, this trade package is adequate. It strengthens the depth of the 76ers and includes a valuable first-round pick in 2027. By 2027, Simmons's contract would expire, and the Hornets could look entirely different from today. The only player that would most likely stay in Charlotte if all things go well would be LaMelo Ball. He is still under his rookie contract until 2024 and will enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent. This means that the Hornets can match any contract Ball is offered.

The only downside about this trade is that the 76ers would have an abundance of forward players. However, Tobias Harris has recently been rumoured to be traded. If this trade were to happen, it would solidify that he would be traded by the deadline. While this is an extreme overpay for Simmons, this is the type of offer that Morey would accept, given that he has declined arguably better trade offers than this.

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