Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons just went through a brutal postseason as the Sixers suffered a disappointing second-round series loss to the Atlanta Hawks, with his offensive struggles at the center of it all. The assumption is Daryl Morey is going to look to make a trade, but there's concern that Simmons' trade value is so low that Philly won't get enough back in a deal.
However, Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix was recently on Bill Simmons' podcast and suggested that Ben Simmons' trade value around the NBA is still quite high.
âI hear from executives all the time that are loving this âBen Simmons trade value has crateredâ conversation because they hope that Philadelphia believes that. I think his trade value is actually higher than whatâs being publicly portrayed. But youâre going to continue to hear a lot of the negativity around Ben Simmons.
âIn other words, I think people value him pretty high across the league because I do think thereâs a belief that someoneâs going to figure the shooting thing out.â
Ben Simmons ever becoming a legitimate shooter is probably wishful thinking at this point, but there's no doubt he can be better than what we just saw in these playoffs. His free-throw shooting hit historic lows and he was clearly afraid to shoot because of it. The Sixers star had never been that bad, so it's fair to think with some tweaks to his game and an improvement to his mindset that he won't ever look that awful offensively again.
Plus, Simmons is still an elite playmaker and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. While his shooting struggles are an issue in the playoffs, he can still help any team in the regular season. The hope is he can fix his game enough and be used in a way that doesn't make him such a liability in the postseason, and there's reason to believe he can.
After all, he's still just 24 years old and extremely talented. Perhaps a fresh start would really help him.
Follow Us
Subscribe