NBA Rumors: Sixers In Shambles; Brown, Simmons Future On The Line

The Philadelphia 76ers may seem solid in the NBA playoffs right now, but several revelations may have opened a big can of worms -- at least internally. That includes the word that the Sixers general manager had allegedly once approached 76ers management about a potential Ben Simmons trade and the acquisition of Jimmy Butler.

According to the New York Daily News, the Sixers general manager had approached management about potentially moving on without Simmons in the mix. The suggestion was immediately turned down by management, saying that Simmons, along with Joel Embiid, are not to be traded even if the team had been able to acquire Anthony Davis. And as expected, this claim was denied by the Sixers.

Aside from that, Brett Brown's future may be on the line. Depending on how well they perform in the ongoing NBA playoffs, there is a chance that the 58-year-old mentor could be joining the list of fired coaches after the 2018-19 NBA season.

Word has come out that Brown has lost the vote of confidence of the 76ers locker room, particularly after the Butler trade. Also, there was that speech given by retired NBA player Bruce Bowen who gave a speech about the San Antonio Spurs culture that somehow did not pan out well. In fact, it reportedly led to a confrontation between Bowen and Embiid, according to the Bleacher Report.

Most of this cropped up after the Sixers dropped their NBA playoff-opening day game against the Brooklyn Nets, 111-102. Philly managed to knot the series with a big 145-123 win on Tuesday. Moving on, is this an indication that all is well in the Land of Brotherly Love?

With the expose concerning Brown and Simmons, things are expected to get mentally tougher for Philly. Brown's future may be on the table and dependent on how far he can take the team in the NBA playoffs.

As for Simmons, his off-court activities could factor in eventually after the Sixers NBA season. He is aware that stakes are higher and for as long as he is doing his share for the team, these distractions are unlikely to have much meat, at least for now.

Simmons did bounce back in game 2 to overshadow his lackluster game 1 performance in the NBA playoffs. The Sixers need three more wins to overcome the Nets and advance, meaning the 22-year-old needs to make sure that he can render the same performance throughout the NBA playoffs -- depending on how deep the team can go.