Why the Philadelphia 76ers need to trade Ben Simmons as soon as possible
Entering this season, the Philadelphia 76ers were looked upon as one of three potential favourites to make it out of the Eastern Conference. While the 76ers were not the favourites to win the championship this season, they were in the conversation of at least making it to the conference finals. Unfortunately, the Atlanta Hawks flew in and took down the 76ers in game seven despite Trae Young shooting 5/23 from the field.
The 76ers losing in the second round since the "process" is a massive blow to this organization, especially this season. Philadelphia finished the regular season as the first-seed while having an MVP and defensive player of the year candidate. Unfortunately, that was still not enough to get past a young and inexperienced Hawks.
While many fingers can be pointed to every player, coach or management personnel, Ben Simmons and Doc Rivers are the main reasons the 76ers lost in the second round. Doc Rivers, who struggles to make in-game decisions, played a significant factor in the 76ers heart-breaking loss. Typically in a game seven, a coach shrinks the rotation and plays at most eight players. In the Nets vs Bucks game seven thriller, both teams played their starters at least 90% of the time while having a max of two additional; bench players play no more than twelve minutes a game unless your name is Pat Connaughton. Rather than playing the starters max minutes in an elimination game, Doc Rivers insisted on initiating a ten-man rotation when it should have been seven or eight.
While Doc Rivers' coaching was disappointing throughout this series, the primary reason the 76ers lost in the second round of the playoffs is Ben Simmons. In game seven, Simmons only attempted five shots and finished the game with a stat-line of five points, eight rebounds, 13 assists and a steal. While his playmaking continues to be spectacular, his lack of confidence in shooting the basketball hindered this team from advancing. Simmons is the second-best player in Philadelphia and even beat his teammate, Tobias Harris, to the All-Star game when he didn't deserve it. As a second-best player, Ben Simmons needs to help a lot more on the offensive side of the basketball. Having no confidence in scoring is unacceptable in the NBA. Ben Simmons passing up a wide-open dunk is intolerable in the NBA. The 76ers need to move on from their second-round elimination process and instead make strides to fix this issue.
The city of Philadelphia will have a hard time forgiving Ben Simmons as his time with the organization has to come to an official end. If Simmons were able to score the basketball, the 76ers would be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In order to keep positive morale in Philadelphia, the 76ers need to make significant moves this off-season. Firing Doc Rivers and trading Ben Simmons are the first steps in making substantial changes to this organization. While finding a replacement for Doc Rivers could be challenging, a trade for Ben Simmons should be Daryl Morrey's top priority this off-season.
The main problem the 76ers have had for years is shooting the basketball. Even though the 76ers added players like Seth Curry and George Hill to help their shooting, it was clearly not enough. The 76ers need to trade Ben Simmons for a player who is confident and comfortable in shooting the basketball. Players such as Fred VanVleet, CJ McCollum, Zach LaVine, and Bradley Beal are players the 76ers should target this off-season.
Ben Simmon's trade value is at an all-time low. His performance in the playoffs was abysmal as he refuses to shoot the basketball. It will be difficult for the 76ers to trade Simmons in the off-season as he has shown little to no growth since his rookie year. His contract is now an extreme overpay, which is arguably the biggest reason as to why teams will be hesitant in trading for Simmons. Even though he still has plenty of time to develop confidence in his jump-shot, his time in Philadelphia has officially come to an end.
