The 2019-20 Philadelphia 76ers were a tough team to gauge. The Sixers played like an elite team at home, going 29-2 at Wells Fargo Center. However, the 76ers were a lowly 10-24 on the road and All-Stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid continued to be a bad fit alongside each other.
At different points during the season, Sixers fans booed Tobias Harris, Embiid, and Al Horford during home games. There were even rumors that 76ers management was thinking about moving Simmons or Embiid. All in all, there was a lot of drama surrounding the team, which was surprising given their 39-26 record.
Sixers general manager Elton Brand would be foolish to trade Simmons or Embiid. Instead, he should move on from Horford since Al's first season in Philly was a disaster from start to finish.
The Sixers signed Horford to a lucrative $109 million contract last summer in free agency after watching him dominate them when he was playing for the Boston Celtics. Philly head coach Brett Brown was certain Embiid and Horford were going to dominate in the frontcourt together.
However, it never happened. Horford wound up coming off the bench before the season was suspended. And to make matters even worse, two Sixers fans told Adam Aaronson of “The Rights To Ricky Sanchez” podcast that their ticket sales representatives cited contributing to the pay of Horford's massive contract as a reason why their prices increased significantly. Yikes!
In 60 games for the Sixers this season, Horford averaged 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. There’s zero floor spacing on the court when Embiid, Simmons, and Al are playing together. Brand should think about trading Horford to the Houston Rockets since Houston needs big man help. The Sixers could maybe acquire shooting guard Eric Gordon from Houston.
When Simmons puts his head down and drives to the basket, he collapses the defense and draws multiple defenders. The Sixers need more snipers on the outside for Simmons to kick it out to after he gets deep in the paint. Philly clearly missed J.J. Redick this season. The sharpshooter left the team in free agency last summer to sign with the New Orleans Pelicans.
With no shooters to kick it out to, Embiid isn't able to dominate in the paint since he's getting doubled team at every turn and there’s no space for him to operate. Simmons has no resemblance of a jump shot yet and Harris and Horford aren’t consistent enough shooters to warrant constant attention on the perimeter.
As a result, Embiid often time struggled this season in the post since he was getting boxed in every time he touched the ball inside the paint.
The Sixers ranked 19th in the NBA in 3-pointers made with 742 before the season was suspended. That’s too low of a number for a team with three explosive scorers in Embiid, Simmons, and Harris. Brand has to move on from Horford and get more shooters on the team.
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