It’s gonna be a painful breakup in Philadelphia

Oh Ben Simmons, how could you be so heartless

Gloom struck the air in Philadelphia on Sunday night, as the Atlanta Hawks stole the dreams of every 76ers fan: a conference finals bid.
In the process era, the Sixers have had four straight playoff appearances- the furthest they’ve made it was a Game 7 in the conference semifinals both this year and in 2019. More than ever, it is clear that change is imminent; for the Sixers, this means a dramatic change.

In the 7-game series, Ben Simmons was exposed by the Hawks for his offensive liabilities. It was easily the worst stretch of basketball that he has ever played. In the last four games of the series, Simmons failed to attempt a single shot in the fourth quarter, let alone make one. He missed more free throws than the entire Hawks team. He passed up wide-open shots and passed out on open lanes to the rim.

Simply put, Ben Simmons is scared. He is scared to shoot. He is scared to dribble. He is scared to try. He is scared to play. His issue is mental, and the difficulty of fixing that is not achievable in Philadelphia. Someone who was once regarded as “the next Lebron” has plummeted himself into the depths of lost confidence and poor play. Time is running out in Philly, and questions need to be answered.

Following the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers could not answer whether Simmons could be a point guard on a title contending team, saying, “I don’t know the answer to that question right now.”

For Philadelphia, the answer is closing. With Joel Embiid’s injury history and playstyle, there’s no telling how many more years he will play prime basketball. While he did drop 30 and 11 on a torn meniscus, Embiid needs to be healthy to win a championship. At most, the Sixers might get 4 or 5 more years of a prime Embiid. The time to capitalize is now.

The Ben Simmons-Joel Embiid experiment was a failure and should not be tested for another season.

That is not to say Ben is a bad player or that he cannot figure things out, but it is to say that the Sixers simply do not have the time to figure it out. When Embiid dealt with the effects of his torn meniscus, there was times where he just was not the same. In those moments, the Sixers struggled like never before. The reason? outside of Embiid, there is no other reliable scorer.

Seth Curry cannot consistently be relied upon to drop 20+ ppg- he does not create his own space, does not have a dribble, nor can he be a floor general. He relies on plays that get him open and is best as a spot-up shooter, but even his playoff performance will not happen again. Shooting just below 60% from 3 is absurd.

Tobias Harris is the most inconsistent Sixer (outside of Simmons). He has great games. In the first eight games of the playoffs, Harris shot 53.8% and dropped 23 points a game. In the last four games, he shot just 38.6% for 12 points a game. That is a substantial difference for the player who is supposed to be the secondary option. Harris makes too much money to be just “above average,” rarely helping Embiid when it has mattered most.

The other issue is the intense focus on Embiid. Since no one else on this team is reliable on the offense side of the ball, Joel does all of the dirty work. He’s always moving around to compensate for his teammates’ weaknesses, setting them up in every way possible, getting every double team- through all of that, he was able to score 30 a game in the Hawks series.

While the issues don’t stop there, it is the most painful problem that has hindered this team ever since the rookie year of Embiid. He needs a star player next to him who can shoot, create, and score just like he does. This might sound like Embiid needs a lot, but it isn’t.

Embiid needs some of the pressure to be taken off of him. A superstar cannot win alone. This is not saying Embiid can not handle the load on his own, but it is to say that Embiid deserves help in handling the load. No other star has to compensate as much as Embiid does on the offensive end.

Looking around the league, Embiid is the only top-12 center without a reliable guard who can score by himself. Nikola Jokic has Jamal Murray, Rudy Gobert has Donovan Mitchell, KAT has D’Angelo Russell, Nikola Vucevic has Zach Lavine- the list goes on and on. Yet Embiid has lacked a scoring guard throughout his whole career. The only guards that Embiid has played alongside who were reliable shooters have only been the specialists- players who are good at what they do, but not much else. Even then, it is only 2 notable players- JJ Reddick and the aforementioned Seth Curry.

So the Ben Simmons trade looks obvious: get someone who can score the ball, create on their own, and actually relieve pressure off of Embiid. Easier said than done.

There are options out there for sure but evaluating Simmons’ trade value is difficult. A few months ago, he was in rumors to be traded for James Harden, and now he might be traded for a “bag of chips.” There’s also still a chance he stays. In today’s (6/22/21) press conference, Darryl Morey seemed like he wanted to keep Simmons, citing he wanted to bring change “internally instead of externally,” and wanted to keep cohesion to the Sixers Big-3.

If Simmons is traded, know that Morey will squeeze everything he can out of a potential deal. Morey knows there is an issue and has never been afraid to take risks with his trades. He’s made moves for Curry, Danny Green, and Tyrese Maxey to fill a scoring void, but now he needs to make an even bigger move.

The most ideally realistic trade is with Portland, where the Sixers would receive CJ McCollum in exchange for Simmons and other assets. While this is an amazing trade, the question is how can it benefit Portland. Ben would have to transition to becoming a Draymond Green-like player. If he can fully take on that role, the Trailblazers would happily take the deal. Simmons can thrive in a role where he stays near the rim and makes clutch passes, and none of the pressure would be on him.

McCollum, on the other hand, is a great player for the Sixers. He can shoot from anywhere and can create floor spacing. But, he is not the best player to trade for. Even though NBA execs. point to this as the best option, it isn’t. McCollum is 29 years old and has consistently come up short in the playoffs. He rarely fulfills his job as Dame’s right-hand man and lacks any sort of defense.

This brings us to players like Bradley Beal and Zach Lavine are arguably the best types to place next to Embiid, but right now it seems a trade of this magnitude can only happen in our dreams.

My favorite trade options happen to be Malcolm Brogdon of the Pacers and Pascal Siakam of the Raptors.

Brogdon is one of the league’s most underrated assets. Brogdon is essentially a mini-Ben Simmons who can shoot. Averaging 21-5-6 with 38% from the 3-point line, Brogdon will be able to bring out an even more fierce Embiid, while taking a huge load off of him. Brogdon is also a stout defender. He may not be the same as Simmons, but he brings enough to hold his own against some of the best.

To make a trade work, big assets need to move both ways, so in addition to Brogdon, the Pacers would need to deal either TJ Warren or Caris Levert to the Sixers. Ideally, Morey would pursue Levert and concede Shake Milton.

Potential trade:

Sixers receive: Malcolm Brogdon, Caris Levert

Pacers receive: Ben Simmons, Shake Milton, 2021 first round pick

New Sixers starting-5: Brogdon, Curry, Levert, Harris, Embiid

Now, the other interesting candidate happens to be Pascal Siakam. It is definitely a stranger concept, but it can work out well for the Sixers. Both players have had their values plummet a bit, so they face similar issues. There is no doubt that everyone in Philadelphia loves Tyrese Maxey, and he has proven himself in the bright lights of the playoffs. With his surge and the added spacing Siakam provides, the Sixers can go farther than before

The lineup could face some issues though. Harris hasn’t played SF in a few years, so if this is the trade that happens, it could end up being a 3-team trade with a team like the Trailblazers, who stay actively shopping to get Dame help.

Potential trade:

Sixers receive: Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., Robert Covington

Raptors receive: Ben Simmons, Isaiah Joe, CJ McCollum, Derrick Jones Jr.

Trailblazers receive: Tobias Harris, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn, Rodney Hood, 2021 FRP from Philadelphia and Toronto

New Sixers starting-5: Maxey, Curry, Covington, Siakam, Embiid

A new era needs to start in Philadelphia. Embiid won’t last forever. The time to win is now. Only one questions remains: how do the Sixers approach winning?