These past few days have been crazy for the NBA world. New coaches are being hired in Dallas, Indiana, Portland, Washington, and Boston. The NBA combine is around the corner along with the Draft. And the Conference Finals have begun and have produced some killer games to watch. But the biggest news recently is what will the 76ers do with Ben Simmons.
The Process
Ben Simmons was the first pick overall in the 2016 draft. He, Joel Embiid (taken 3rd overall in 2014's draft), and Markelle Fultz (taken 1st overall in 2017's draft) were the start of what the NBA world called The Process. This phrase was used over and over by fans, analyst, and even players, to describe the time and planning it took to take the 76ers from bottom of the barrel in the NBA to a Finals champion. Joel Embiid himself would constantly say "Trust the process" when things took a downturn for Philly. But when you look the numbers, could Ben Simmons honestly ever take a team to the promise land as a Point Guard?
Stats
The first thing to mention is that Simmons is a decent to great player. He can play defense, rebound, and get his teammates involved with his great pass making ability. The problem is he doesn't score enough to be a top point guard. This season he averaged 14.3 points per game, which according to ESPN is 66th best in the league. That is not good enough for one of the two top players on a team that have title aspirations. And his free throw percentage is hot garbage at 61% this season. This percentage is Shaq like, but Simmons is a guard! Because of his troubles at the foul line he avoids taking late game, important shots, for his team. Which is okay for most players and honesty teams would probably be okay knowing he doesn't take game winners. But the fact that he actively passes up open DUNKS because he knows he might have to shot foul shots isn't okay.
What he did in this video is just crazy. To be so much in your head about your foul shooting troubles (and your shooting troubles in general for the series) is not going to fly. Especially in the city of Philadelphia where fans eat athletes for lunch.
Solutions
With all that has happened, there is trade talk about how like Ben Simmons will last in Philly now. And with his shooting woes, and maybe some mental ones, it might be hard for Philly to get what they want back for Simmons. So the 76ers have two options: Work on shooting with him or look around for a trade. Right now, they are telling the world they are staying with him and have plans to work with him to better his shooting this summer. But this is were the 76ers organization should start taking more heat.
Remember Markelle Fultz, who was taken just one year later after Ben Simmons by the 76ers? He struggled horribly with shooting his first two years in the league. He averaged 8 points a game and shot 56% from the foul line. So bad so that the 76ers traded him away! Of course, they didn't do this without trying to improve his shooting mechanics and working with him. The 76ers did their due diligence. But once they traded him away, he got better. The past two seasons in Orlando he is averaging 12 points a game and shooting mid 81% from the foul line. The Orlando Magic have seemed to fixed his shooting woes. Is he worth his #1 overall selection? No, but that's a topic for another time. The big take away is he got better.
If the 76ers couldn't fix Fultz's shooting, what gives us any confidence they can fix Simmons? Why should Philly fans be confident in their coaching staff? Now they have changed head coaches since the Fultz situation but their current head coach doesn't seem too confident in what Simmons can do or what the 76ers can do to help him. Head Coach Doc Rivers said "I don't know that question or the answer to that right now." when asked if Ben Simmons could be a PG for a championship team. The coach has already given up on him after one year of coaching him.
Wrap Up
This is why I titled this The 76ers Problem. Ben Simmons has some issues but I have no faith that the 76ers can fix them. And with how Fultz has improved after leaving, it might be in Simmons best interest to leave. But it would not be in the 76ers best interest. I don't think they can get the type of players back for Simmons that gives them defense, rebounding, and playmaking. Now they could always get some draft picks back for Simmons. But think of this: if a team has traded away two #1 overall selections it made just in the last 5 to 6 years, how can you trust their scouting department? They could blow away any picks they get back for Simmons on players with the same problems. The 76ers are now out of The Process but they still are not close to a championship.
