If the Philadelphia 76ers don't go on a deep playoff run at Disney World, the prevailing thought around the league is that Sixers general manager Elton Brand will trade Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid in the offseason.
One NBA executive who spoke with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com expressed belief that it's inevitable Simmons and Embiid get split up if the Sixers don't meet expectations in the 2020 postseason.
One executive who spoke with cleveland.com believes the Sixers will need to choose between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid — if Philly has an earlier-than-expected playoff exit.
Simmons may not even play in the 2020 postseason for the Sixers, as he left the Disney bubble to undergo knee surgery.
If the Sixers don't have Simmons in the playoffs, it's unlikely for them to have long-term success. It's unknown if Brand will look to run the team's core back for one more season since Simmons got hurt or decide to break it up anyway since the club underachieved even when Simmons was playing.
If Embiid plays well in the playoffs and has more space to operate sans Simmons, Brand may have to part ways with Ben. Embiid is a dominant low-post scorer and impacts the game more than Simmons at this point.
It should be interesting to see what happens with the Philly franchise moving forward.
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