It wasn’t supposed to look like this for the Philadelphia 76ers, riding high with a spot atop the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings heading into Tuesday’s games. It wasn’t supposed to look like a team united, together and functioning at something close to the peak of their powers. It wasn’t supposed to look like a six-game winning streak until that loss to New York, especially not with Joel Embiid off to a slow start that’s about to get slower and Tobias Harris out due to COVID-19. Not with the drama surrounding this team. Not with the Ben Simmons saga picking holes in whatever certainty the squad had. Not for as long as the great impasse remains in place involving Simmons, one of the league’s most talented, scrutinized and criticized players. Yet here we are, with some kind of meaningful sample size already in the books, and 8-3 Philly thriving under Doc Rivers – and without Simmons – who has not played since he asked for a trade following the team’s exit from the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Simmons was the story of the NBA preseason, first holding out and being hit with fines, then turning up begrudgingly and practicing with a cell phone in his pocket, getting kicked out of training camp by Rivers, then informing the team he needed time off to work on his mental health. Over the past week his mental health has been at the forefront again, with the 76ers fining Simmons for missed time once more, claiming that he had not provided sufficient information in relation to his treatment after refusing to be seen by a team specialist. Player power has never been stronger in the NBA and when the situation kicked off over the summer, most assumed Philly general manager Daryl Morey would have little choice but to trade him for whatever unfavorable deal was being dangled. But with no offers of any legitimate strength coming in, Morey and the franchise decided to hold firm. Such tactics have been tried before – think the Houston Rockets and James Harden – but the endeavor is usually exceedingly short-lived and non-productive. Perhaps not this time. Without Simmons, the 76ers haven’t floundered. They haven’t struggled on defense or with ball handling. The disruption hasn’t been very, well, disrupting. And suddenly, thanks to a string of fine performances on the court that has seen the 76ers top of the power rankings for several publications, Morey and the front office now have a ton of leverage that previously resided in Simmons’ palm. “What have the Sixers gained?” wrote David Murphy in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “They look like a team that can afford to wait. They’ve given the rest of the NBA’s general managers reason to believe that Morey might actually be crazy enough to let the Simmons situation linger all the way to the trade deadline in February.” That probably won’t happen, but what is for sure is that the 76ers have, at the bare minimum, bought themselves some time. While Matisse Thybulle is doing much of the defensive work for which Simmons was responsible and Seth Curry is shooting lights out, the 76ers don’t have any need to act immediately. “I don’t agree with the way Morey has handled the Simmons situation, but he’s been brilliant on the margins since arriving in Philly,” Yaron Weitzman, FOX Sports NBA writer and author of “Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports,” told me. “In trading for Danny Green (40.0 3P%) and Seth Curry (48.3% 3P%, 58.3 FG%), signing Georges Niang (12.2 ppg, 38.2 3P%), and drafting Tyrese Maxey (14.4 points and 4.7 assists per game), he’s surrounded Joel Embiid with depth and shooting. “With a player like Embiid, that’s enough to survive – and even thrive – during the regular season.” A further misfortune came at the start of the week, when Embiid tested positive for COVID-19, but for as long as the 76ers sit comfortably above .500, there is flexibility. What Morey wants, what he’s wanted since the start, is an All-Star quality player to replace Simmons, not a bunch of pieces or draft picks the team doesn’t really need. The longer he waits, the more the likelihood of a situation where teams have a pressing need for a player of Simmons’ ability, either due to a superstar injury, a desire to make the playoffs, or as a final piece to contend for a title. Morey needed this flying start. His chance of getting value for Simmons requires the world to believe they are willing to let this drag out. That’s impossible with a losing team that looks like it has a gaping hole in the lineup. “People should buckle in,” Morey said on Philadelphia local radio station 97.5 The Fanatic recently. “This is going to go for a long time, because my only job is to help us have the best chance to win the title. If we can trade Ben Simmons for a difference maker, we will do it. I think that’s best for everyone in this situation.” In truth, there may be no “best thing” in this odd scenario where a fine young player and his team found themselves completely unable to coexist. But by thundering out of the gates, it is the 76ers who have asserted some control, and Simmons who is left to wonder what his immediate future holds. Here’s what others have said … Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed: “You’ve got to move Ben sooner than later. This thing is getting worse and it’s going to get really messy.” Colin Cowherd, The Herd: “Ben Simmons does not have the right to hold the Sixers hostage.” Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers: “I think we just have to understand he’s a human first. If he’s going through something, we have to respect that and be there for him as a team, organization, fans. All the way down the line. At this time, I think he needs more support than neglect.” |
