The Philadelphia 76ers are in a questionable place this off season which they haven’t really addressed. What is happening to Ben Simmons? How soon can the Sixers trade him? At the rate of where the team is going, it seems like Simmons could still play for the Sixers to start the season which is detrimental for the team.
"Ben Simmons is not answering the phone calls, he don’t want to be with the 76ers, and from what I heard, he’s willing not to report to training camp, and will go as long as it takes for him to get out of Philly."
– Kendrick Perkins
(Via ESPN | h/t @FortyEightMins) pic.twitter.com/R3Lsu9O2Q0— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) August 10, 2021
Aside from the Simmons drama, the Sixers added Andre Drummond (who ironically is going to take on the Dwight Howard role), George Niang, Aaron Henry and brought back Furkan Korkmaz and Danny Green. Their biggest off-season move was re-signing Joel Embiid to a supermax contract. It’s clear that this is Embiid’s team now but do they have enough pieces to make another push?
Keeping Simmons is a bad move
As mentioned above, if Simmons continues with the Sixers then that’s a dangerous move for the team. They didn’t really end last season on good terms especially after Embiid passively threw Simmons under the bus. Carrying that same energy to start the season is like playing with fire.
Disappointing news: Ben Simmons is still shooting with the wrong hand. pic.twitter.com/Fuc0PCtGGA
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) August 9, 2021
The major reason as to why Simmons hasn’t been traded is because no package has pleased Daryl Morey. Simmons has already made it clear he wants to be traded and the last thing Morey wants is to be forced to trade him and receive assets he doesn’t like in return. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to Simmons moving forward. Morrey has got his work cut out for him.
Not enough to compete against the best
Acquiring Niang and keeping Green are great moves by the Sixers but it doesn’t seem enough to compete against a loaded Brooklyn Nets team, defending champions Milwaukee Bucks and even an improved Miami Heat team. The Sixers are in danger of falling down the standings especially if the bad juju from last season continues this year. Luckily for them, they signed Embiid to a long deal so they can breathe for now.
A contender shouldn’t have major questions entering the season
Philadelphia’s off season moves don’t really answer the questions the Sixers have faced since getting eliminated last playoffs. If they want to contend, they have to be more sure than ever about what they have. Besides Simmons’ status, these questions haven’t been answered:
- Is Doc Rivers really the right coach come playoff time or does he need more help in his staff?
- Will Embiid and Drummond get along after their famous fight in the past?
- Is Tobias Harris a reliable asset in the playoffs?
- Can Green and Nieng provide an offensive spark for the team this season?
- Will relying too much on Embiid lead to another injury when it matters most?
Overall grade: B –
Aside from re-signing Embiid, the Sixers didn’t do much to move the needle for their team. They could either be the same team as last year’s or, sadly, worse. Time will only be the one to tell but from the looks of it, Simmons’ status could likely affect this team as a whole next season. There’s still a lot of uncertainty with this Sixers team and that’s why they don’t seem like contenders next season.
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