The Philadelphia 76ers‘ desire to trade Ben Simmons has not wavered, however, the team has no indication that is willing to offload the former No. 1 pick for anything less than a premium. While dealing Simmons at the trade deadline would seemingly be the ideal option for the Sixers, president Daryl Morey reportedly has a preferred scenario for the disgruntled star.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, a “growing number of rival teams” now believe that Morey would prefer to keep Simmons beyond the trade deadline in order to facilitate a monster sign-and-trade deal for James Harden during the offseason:

Winning without Simmons certainly makes it easier for Embiid to adopt that stance … and Philadelphia will be going for its 11th victory in 13 games Monday afternoon at Washington on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Perhaps he has also been sold on a concept that executives with a growing number of rival teams say they see as Morey's new preferred scenario: Keeping Simmons beyond the trade deadline to exhaust every last possibility for executing a complicated sign-and-trade in the offseason that finally brings James Harden to Philadelphia and routes Simmons to Brooklyn.

While any such deal would be extremely complicated to pull off, as the Sixers would need to shed more than just Simmons' salary to take on Harden's contract, there could be mutual interest toward a deal on both sides. Stein also points out that Harden recently admitted he's interested in testing free agency via an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, so perhaps a sign-and-trade for The Beard isn't off the table for Morey. Additionally, Harden turned down a contract extension offer from the Nets this offseason, further suggesting he could be interested in a move away from the franchise.

While nothing has come to fruition yet, it remains evident that Simmons' future lays outside of Philadelphia. Even if he doesn't find a new NBA home at the trade deadline, Morey is still planning to offload the disgruntled point guard during the offseason.