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The Ben Simmons saga continues to be one of the most unpredictable storylines in the NBA right now. Out of nowhere, the former number one pick ended his holdout and reported to Philadelphia with a week to go before the start of the regular season.
There have been no indications that Simmons will rescind his trade request, but it looks like he might rejoin his team on the floor while Daryl Morey continues to look for a suitable return.
Simmons is listed as doubtful for the Sixers' preseason finale against the Pistons on Friday, and it's fair to assume he won't be seeing the floor. But if he ever does this season, Doc Rivers has some new plans in mind to best showcase the 25-year-old's skills and versatility.
Over the past few weeks, Rivers has constantly brought up the addition of Georges Niang this offseason. He feels the sharpshooting forward has the potential to be a big under-the-radar acquisition for the Sixers this season.
Not only will his outside shooting provide much-needed spacing for the second unit, but Niang's size also allows Rivers to experiment with new groupings of players. Following the Sixers' public scrimmage last weekend, he gave a glimpse of a potential lineup he had in mind once Niang was signed.
“Part of it was envisioning Ben [Simmons] at the five, Georges [Niang] at the four, and Tobias [Harris] at the three. That's a big small lineup with unbelievable shooting. Those are the lineups we want to have,” said Doc Rivers.
Ben Simmons being used as a small-ball center is something we've seen used sparingly throughout the years but might become more common moving forward. With the group of players that can be surrounded by him now, this current iteration of the roster might be the best group to utilize this style.
There are few players in the league more dangerous than Simmons in the open floor. Between his speed and playmaking ability, defenses are stuck scrambling in an attempt to slow him down. If he is at center in a lineup with Niang, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Seth Curry, it would be incredibly tough to defend.
In today's game, having optionality is always good. You never know when a situation might arise where the gameplan has to be thrown at the window. Experimenting more with Simmons at center in the regular season could pay dividends down the road. We saw last postseason it was a look Rivers had to go with after Joel Embiid suffered a knee injury against the Washington Wizards in round one.
Doc Rivers has always been extremely high on Ben Simmons' skill set and appears eager to highlight it more in his second season as head coach of the Sixers. Many analysts have said before that Simmons could be a “baby Giannis” if used right and this type of lineup is one way to use him similar to how Milwaukee showcases their franchise cornerstone.
