Shams checking in:

Couple of thoughts here:

  1. “Do they want a disgruntled star on their roster?” Hell no. Just make a trade and let’s move on. This thing is over. Put us out of our misery.
  2. Shams must be talking about Ben’s place in Moorestown, because the Center City condo was already put up for sale.
  3. If Ben is still upset about some comments made to the media, then he probably needs to get over it at this point.
  4. If there’s truth to that Brogdon/LeVert/and a pick deal with the Pacers, I’d absolutely do that. Brogdon and LeVert gets you the #1 seed again. Legit point guard and a sixth-man who can score off the bench? #DoTheDeal.
  5. I don’t blame Portland for not doing that McCollum thing. Too many picks for a team that is kind of in purgatory and might be rebuilding if it doesn’t work out this year.

For the Sixers, the question is basically how long they can afford to go with Tyrese Maxey or Shake Milton at point guard. Neither guy is a point guard; they’re combo guards, and you see some of the ball-handling issues that popped up in the two preseason games. Doc is gonna have enough talent to win without Ben in the first couple of regular season weeks, but they’re gonna be itchy for a true PG sooner rather than later, and that might accelerate this whole process.