Bill Simmons again speculated about the Sixers trading up to take Markelle Fultz at number one. This time he was talking to his producer Tate Frazier:

BS: “Philly is the team I keep looking at. So Philly’s three. Philly moves up to one and they get Fultz or Lonzo. Probably Fultz. You put Fultz with Ben Simmons and Embiid and that’s it… if you keep Embiid and Simmons healthy, those are your three guys for the next 10 years. So if they love Fultz, and I don’t know if they do, would you offer the number three pick, Saric, who you don’t need because you have Ben Simmons coming, and the Lakers pick next year to move up two spots? That Lakers pick might not be a great pick, beause they’re gonna try to get better this summer. Is that too much for that pick?”

TF: “No, I don’t think it’s too much, I just think there’s pressure on the Celtics now to take Fultz because he’s unequivaclly the best pick, the numer one guy that everyone thinks, which I’m not necessarily sold on that.”

BS: “I don’t know if they are either.”

TF: “So if basically they can bait that situation where they can sell that number one pick off to the Sixers, they get that Lakers pick, and then they get what, Josh Jackson at three?”

BS: “Yeah. Or Tatum. I think they like Tatum. They’ve always loved Duke guys. So you basically turn that pick into Jayson Tatum or Jackson, Saric, and the Lakers pick next year.”

TF: “Saric at the 4?”

BS: “Yeah, you’re replacing Amir Johnson with Saric.”

TF: “That’s an upgrade.”

TF: “What does Bryan Colangelo think? Do you think he’s really sold on Fultz?”

BS: “I think they take Fox [at three].”

TF: “They may even try to trade back, get Fox at 5. Maybe they try to trick the Kings into moving up.”

BS: “I think Fox doesn’t go lower than three.”

You can listen to that portion of the exchange here.

I’m trying to calibrate my expectations to not include the Sixers trading up to take Fultz. I think it’s a long shot. But Simmons is dialed into NBA trade rumors and Celtics thinking more than anyone. This is the second podcast in a row he mentioned them trading the pick to the Sixers.