Stephen A. Smith: Here's the reality — as it was reported, Rich Paul talked to the Philadelphia 76ers, and obviously, he's Ben Simmons' agent, so you're going to want some involvement. Didn't ask for a trade, but certainly if Ben Simmons were to be traded, he wants some say in where he goes. That's what the reality is. And in the end, Philadelphia is trying to claim that Philadelphia is not interested in moving Ben Simmons.
“It was just like a shock, but not too much of a shock,” Will Barton said when asked his reaction to the trade. “It was a shock in that, obviously, I had been there eight years, did so much there together, so it’s always shocking when you’ve been somewhere for so long and you’re moving on. But, at the same time, I embraced it, I’m welcoming a new chapter.”