Ben Simmons has informed the Philadelphia 76ers that he no longer wants to remain with the franchise and does not intend to report to training camp.

Simmons met with Josh Harris, Daryl Morey, Elton Brand and Doc Rivers last week in Los Angeles. 

The 76ers have been attempting to trade Simmons for the second time since December and his trade value across the league has gone down.

Simmons has four seasons and $147 million remaining on his deal and he's prepared to accept the consequences of a fine for now reporting to camp.

While there are plenty of teams interested in trading for Simmons, the asking price sought by the 76ers has been beyond what most would consider to be his fair market value. 

“Think about three months ago when the Sixers are willing to give up Ben Simmons. You are like, ‘Let’s see what we have to do to get him,’” said a Western Conference executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Now, the difference is Ben Simmons says he refuses to play for the Sixers. He wants to go to three California teams. There’s so much bad blood between him and the team.”

The executive said teams are not willing to give in to the Sixers’ steep asking price knowing they have to move Simmons.

“The kid said he’s not going back,” the executive said. “I’m not giving you what you’re demanding. They really messed this up.”

The Portland Trail Blazers had interest in trading for Dillon Brooks before acquiring Larry Nance Jr. last week.

The Blazers sent out Derrick Jones Jr. and a protected first round pick for Nance.

It us unknown what the Memphis Grizzlies could have sought in return for Brooks. Brooks signed a three-year, $35 million extension with the Grizzlies in 2020.

The Chicago Bulls received sign-and-trade interest on Lauri Markkanen from a number of teams before eventually sending him to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics all expressed interest in Markkanen.

But the Bulls refused several trade offers and eventually were hung up on a second round pick also being included from Cleveland.

Markkanen is joining the Cavaliers on a four-year, $67.5 million deal with a partial guarantee on the fourth year. 

Markkanen fully expected to be part of the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade to the Spurs, but Chicago is believed to have pulled him from the porospal. 

A trade of Ben Simmons by the Philadelphia 76ers remains an apparent inevitability, but no deal is imminent.

The 76ers conducted expansive discussions with several teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors, but neither package was found appealing enough for an agreement to be reached.

The 76ers have told teams they are comfortable bringing back Simmons for the 21-22 season, but rival executives believe it is a matter of when and not if he is traded.

The Timberwolves have been motivated to find a deal for Simmons but would likely require a third team given their asset pool of Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels and D’Angelo Russell might not entice the 76ers.

The 76ers continue to seek Damian Lillard, but the Portland Trail Blazers want to build around him. The 76ers may be stuck between waiting out Lillard or trading Simmons now.

The Memphis Grizzlies have not asked Juancho Hernangomez to report or take a physical after his trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Grizzlies similarly did not ask Rajon Rondo to report and he has subsequently been bought out.

Hernangomez has two seasons remaining on his deal at $12.8 million, but hte final season is not fully guaranteed. 

Hernangomez averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 17.3 minutes over 52 games last season with the Wolves. 

DeAndre Jordan is entering Year 3 of a four-year, $40 million contract he signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, but The Athletic does not expect him to remain with the team when the 21-22 season starts.

"From what I’ve been hearing, I would be surprised if Jordan is a Net by the time the team heads to San Diego for training camp," writes Alex Schiffer. "He’s already been shopped throughout the draft and offseason and you can start to read the writing on the wall. Now, assuming he’s gone, I’m curious about the exit route. Is it a trade, when there has already been a lack of a market for him and the Nets lack draft capital and young talent to part with for a significant return? Buyout? Waived? Regardless, I do not expect him back."

Blake Griffin is expected to start at center alongside Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers have agreed on a deal involving a sign-and-trade involving Lauri Markkanen. 

The Cavaliers will acquire Markkanen, while the Bulls will receive Derrick Jones Jr. and a lottery protected future first rounder from the Blazers, while Portland receives Larry Nace Jr. The Cavaliers will also second a 2023 second round pick via the Denver Nuggets to the Bulls.

The pick from the Blazers is lottery protected through 2028 and then converts to a 2028 second rounder if not conveyed by then.

Markkanen is a restricted free agent this offseason and will sign a four-year, $67 million deal with the Cavaliers, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports. 

The Indiana Pacers have a bit of a logjam with wings and it looks like Jeremy Lamb will be the odd man out. The Pacers will reportedly look to trade Lamb once he proves he is fully healthy from a torn ACL suffered in 2020. Lamb averaged 10.1 points per game in the 36 games he played after returning from the injury in late-January.

The Los Angeles Lakers and one of Lamb's former team, the Charlotte Hornets, have both expressed interest. The challenge for the Lakers will come in matching salary in a trade for Lamb and his $10.5 million salary.

Indiana hasn't made many changes to their roster this offseason. They lost forward Doug McDermott and added wings in veteran Torrey Craig and rookie Chris Duarte. The addition of Craig and Duarte leaves the Pacers with an abundance of wing options. They join starters Caris LeVert and TJ Warren, and backups Justin Holiday and Edmond Sumner. That has Lamb available on the trade market.

De'Aaron Fox has been linked with a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, but that would be a difficult decision for the Sacramento Kings to make.

The Kings have a logjam at guard with Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Davion Mitchell and Buddy Hield while also having one of the worst defenses in the league. Trading for Simmons would balance Sacramento's roster construction and improve their defense.

But a league source tells The Ringer that Fox is "content in Sacramento" and that might be too critical of a component to risk for one of the more enigmatic players in the league in Simmons.  

Fox signed a five-year, $163 million contract extension with the Kings during the 2020 offseason. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to seek wing help via trade. The Cavs may look at Kyle Anderson or Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies. Cleveland's front office has also had conversations with the Atlanta Hawks about Cam Reddish.

Opposing teams have been look for Cleveland's 2022 first round pick in trade talks. Other clubs have also made trade offers for forward Larry Nance Jr. Kevin Love is expected to remain on the Cavs roster, but may be shifted to a backup role. Cleveland drafted Evan Mobley at the 2021 NBA Draft and re-signed center Jarrett Allen as a free agent.

If Cleveland goes the free agent route for wing help, they have some interest in Denzel Valentine, Svi Mykhailiuk and Garrison Mathews. The Cavaliers have also looked into signing guard Kevin Pangos, who is rumored to be looking at coming to the NBA after starting his career overseas.