NBA Trade Rumors: Sixers willing to package Harris with Simmons

The 2022 NBA Trade Deadline is now less than a month away on Feb. 10, and that means plenty of public and non-public activity is set to take place around the league. Let’s look at some of the most interesting and persistent trade rumors from around the Association before the big day arrives.

Mavs are targeting Myles Turner

The Dallas Mavericks have one of the games’ greatest young superstars in Luka Doncic. They also have Kristaps Porzingis, who is listed at 7’3” but also technically plays the power forward position and has clearly shown he would rather play primarily outside the paint.

As the Mavs look to build around Doncic, the one position that makes an incredible amount of sense to strengthen is center. Doncic and Porzingis can shoot from outside, as can fellow guards Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway Jr. What they need to bring it all together and make them a legitimate contender is a difference-maker on the inside, and for that they are eyeing long-time Indiana Pacer, Myles Turner.

Turner is a native of Dallas and is averaging 13.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and a league-leading 2.9 blocks per game in 2021-22. He has always been a fierce rim protector and finisher in the paint.

An offense that has Doncic pick-and-rolling off Turner, with Porzingis on one wing and/or cutting, and Hardaway or Brunson ready for a kick-out cross court would be very dangerous in the postseason, so it's easy to see the appeal for the Mavericks of adding Turner. He also instantly improves the defense.

The biggest difficulty will be finding the pieces and money to make things happen, but with Doncic at such an elite and critical level in his career development, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the Mavs make a move to improve his outlook in Dallas.

John Collins is growing frustrated in Atlanta

The Atlanta Hawks are having a disappointing season. They sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 17-22, and are not playing good enough defense to be contenders.

The offense is still humming along just fine as they are second in the league in offensive efficiency, but one of their young stars is not contributing much to that. Forward John Collins is posting his lowest usage rate since his rookie season and is frustrated. Losing and less usage have a way of doing that, and while Collins has made clear he loves the city of Atlanta and its fans, it is fair to wonder if he will be used as a trade chip for the franchise that wants to build around Trae Young.

Collins has publicly stated Atlanta is where he wants to be, but it wouldn’t be the first time a professional player makes a declaration and ends up in another city less than a month later.

Simmons and Harris could be a package deal

The Ben Simmons saga is a strange one to say the least, and it would be shocking if the Philadelphia 76ers don’t make an effort to get something back in return for a player that has made it abundantly clear he won’t take an open layup for them ever again.

As he stays off the court for a prolonged period of time his trade appeal diminishes more by the day. To potentially counter that, the Sixers are now also apparently floating Tobias Harris on the trading block.

Harris has been a helpful member of this Sixers franchise, but is no longer an above-average player at his position. He also receives far too much in compensation to be appealing.

If Simmons is going to get traded, it will almost assuredly be as a stand-alone piece. The Kings, Wizards, Hawks, Spurs, and Trail Blazers are presumably some of the top potential destinations.

Wall is still patiently waiting his chance

John Wall hasn’t played since last October, and the 31-year old veteran has been effectively benched by the Houston Rockets, who have given his minutes to younger players.

However, the former All-Star is reportedly drawing interest from some teams hoping to add a veteran guard for a postseason run, so it will be interesting to see if any club is confident enough in his return from injury to absorb the $91.7 million dollars he's set to earn through next year.

Wall had much of his success thanks to his speed and athleticism, so it's hard to envision any team taking a chance for the amount he would cost and the uncertainty of his reliability coming off injury, but it would be nice to see him return to the court and be a meaningful contributor again.