Hawks emerge as potential suitor for Ben Simmons?

The basketball gods may have one heck of a sense of humor when it comes to Ben Simmons.

Veteran NBA writer Marc Stein said in a post to his Substack this week that the Atlanta Hawks have emerged as a suitor to keep an eye on for the disgruntled Philadelphia 76ers star.

Of course, the irony of Simmons ending up with Atlanta would be off the charts. It was Simmons’ performance in the Sixers’ second-round loss to the Hawks last year that started this whole mess. Simmons passed up a wide-open dunk in Game 7 of the series that led to teammate Joel Embiid and coach Doc Rivers essentially throwing him under the bus. That led to the deterioration of Simmons’ relationship with the Sixers, and it has not recovered since.

For now, Simmons remains away from the Sixers as he continues to seek a trade and has now reportedly been fined an insane total amount by the team. Meanwhile, Atlanta is in need of a jolt at just 17-20 on the year. Simmons ending up with the Hawks would prove that the art of irony is definitely not dead.