You Can Officially Cross The Indiana Pacers Off The List Of Potential Ben Simmons Destinations

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You may have seen the clips float around Twitter today of Ben Simmons actually at practice. Good for them, I'm sure things aren't awkward. Back on planet earth, we're all just waiting for the eventual trade bomb from Shams/Woj. Of all the scenarios floating around, one you kept hearing was the Pacers. Remember, it was their early offer that Daryl Morey rejected, only to never find a better option as the offseason went on. Then there was this little nugget on Friday

someone is clearly postering here. On the Sixers side, you can't have it out there that Ben Simmons can't even land Brogdon/LeVert anymore, so naturally it makes sense to come off like you weren't even interested in the first place. Classic diversion. On the Pacers side, I'm sure they can phrase it like another GM was simply too selfish and wouldn't make a trade (sound familiar)? Well, we have a couple more updates that pretty much put the nail in the coffin of this trade idea

With LeVert still hurt, he's probably not going to be traded. That's #1 and frankly some shit luck for both the player and team. But the more important nugget is what just dropped when it comes to Malcolm Brogdon

So, what do we think happened here. The Pacers desperately tried to trade Brogdon only for the Sixers to say no, so they in turn gave him an additional 45M? Or, do they actually not want to trade Brogdon and view him as part of their future, thus giving him an extension that prevents him from being traded this year. My guess is once they were initially told no, their plan shifted and are committed to this group. Already dealing with the TJ Warren injury, the Pacers are a team with a ton of talent but that talent struggles to stay healthy. It's been a brutal stretch for them these last few seasons. Unless there's a drastic move like a Sabonis/Simmons swap (why would PHI want this), I think we can officially rule out the Pacers.

Factoring in these moves, who is even left? Teams like the Spurs, Cavs, Timberwolves etc are names you hear are still interested, but those packages don't seem to entice Morey either

Which tells me it should not surprise anyone if Simmons is on this team until at least December 15th when newly signed players can officially be traded. Whether he plays or not is anyone's guess. Even if he does play, will he be more like early season James Harden pre-BKN trade where he just mailed it in? Or will he actually try?

Either way, his market appears to be slimming down by the week. Teams aren't going to wait around for Morey to make up his mind, especially for a flawed player. The Pacers pretty much told us as much.