On December 30, Beijing time, in the latest episode of the podcast program, Jack Fischer, the famous name of Bleacher Report, revealed some details of the Lakers' offer of Simmons. After losing to the Grizzlies, the topic of "trading Westbrook" quickly rushed to the national hot search, and Fischer reported that the Lakers had previously discussed Simmons' trade plan with the 76ers, but the 76ers were not interested in Westbrook.
"I was told the Lakers had called Philadelphia and they said, 'We're interested in getting Ben (Simmons)...' and it was a short conversation because the only Lakers players who could match Simmons' salary were Davis, James or Westbrook." Fischer said, "Horton Tucker, Nunn and a bunch of base salary contracts can't be exchanged for Simmons. Literally, the only way to get Simmons is to send Westbrook away, but he's not the player the 76ers want. ”
Fischer also said the 76ers have a list of Simmons' trade targets. "I don't know how long the list is, but it's said there are 20-30 players on it. Lillard is on it, Harden is on it, Bill is on it, Alexander is on it, there may be some people on it, but there may not be a trade possibility. I know they have the All-Star players they want, but Westbrook isn't one of them. ”
Lakers reporter Christian Rivas also mentioned the incident at 2019 All-Star Weekend when he forwarded Fischer's report. James, who was the captain at the time, proposed to another captain, Alphabet Brother, that he wanted to exchange Westbrook in the squad for Simmons in the Alphabet Brothers. Brother Alphabet didn't think much of it and quickly agreed. Rivas joked, "76ers aren't as cool as Alphabet Brother." ”
It's really hard to trade Westbrook, after all, he's 33 years old and has a salary of $44.2 million this season and $47 million for player options next season. Against the Grizzlies, Wei Shao got a triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, shooting 7 of 16 shots, 4 of 4 three-pointers, at first glance the data is not bad, but at the critical moment he did not hit the basket, and was spat on by the fans, and quickly rushed to the first position in the hot search list. Do you think Westbrook will finish this season with the Lakers?