After years of rebuilding, the Philadelphia 76ers have established arguably the best young core in the league. With Joel Embiid and Dario Saric earning 2017 All-Rookie First Team honors and Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz entering their rookie years, there is great optimism in Philadelphia.
With the team's roster comprised of mostly young prospects, the 76ers signed JJ Redick and Amir Johnson in free agency. After playing for three teams during his 12-year career, Johnson truly believes Simmons will be the ‘future of this league' according to Brian Seltzer of Sixers:
“I truly believe definitely Ben is going to be the future of this league coming down the road,” the big man said Thursday. “He’s been great.”
Simmons, who has been compared to LeBron James, has amazed Johnson during voluntary workouts:
“The stuff I’ve seen him do just training, it almost seems like it’s not fair, man,” said Johnson. “You get a guard to switch on him, you get a big to switch on him, and he’s just an unbelievable athlete, unbelievable scorer, and an unbelievable passer. He can do it all.”
After sitting out the 2016-17 NBA season due to a season-ending injury, there is a buzz surrounding Simmons. In his lone season at LSU, he averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 33 games.
For the Sixers, the hope is if their young core can stay relatively healthy, they can compete for a playoff spot in the weakened Eastern Conference.
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