The Ben Simmons Megathread - Part IV

[eyeatoma]

Tobias really feels like a lesser Rudy Gay type player that keeps a team in mediocrity for 10 years while he scores 20ppg inefficiently. He just doesn't fit what we're doing here.

Once again, I would have traded him for Dinwiddie or done the initial trade for him. At least he'd fit in this offense.

Would he? Every player who has come had regressed. Need a different coach first.

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That’s not true. There has been a couple players that maximized their talents under Brett. Players like JJ, (had his best years here w/o question) Dario (regressed big time when he left), Covington had his best years here, tj improved massively under Brett, MCW regressed massively when he gig shipped out of town, Nerlens has his best season here. That’s just off the top of my head. Some players like Josh and Al I will admit are struggling here, but josh is playing in a smaller role and Al may just be on his last legs. There have been veteran players that have come here and Brett has no problem incorporating them into rotation and succeeding (Ersan and Marco)

Players that have struggled or have been limited by Brett Brown's offense:
Josh
Jimmy
Al
Trey Burke
Alec Burks
Tobi, has been good but could be better
Glenn Robinson III
Richaun Holmes
Jerami Grant


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[VDT]

The reason why you need Harris is because of Ben and Biid.

The reason why you ended up overpaying Harris is because we are not the Lakers, Knicks or Heat.

The reason why Butler is not here is because of Ben.

The reason why we have to trade for Tobias is because we can’t afford to not have him given how much talent we need to win with Biid and Ben.

Harris is overpaid. Not as good as most star wings like Paul George or Kawhi, but he is here with us and I want him to succeed.

Seriously everybody's opinion here as it relates to what a GM for the Sixers, should or shouldn't have done is like they're playing 2K. Taking Leonard for Simmons, knowing he would leave? Really, so Philly could have Butler, Tobias, and Embiid. No one really knows whether Jimmy would've stayed either.


The problem is exactly what you stated, Philly isn't a destination city that can pull in free agents. They went after LeBron and others, didn't work... No one wanted to play with Joel and Ben. So they traded young assets for 2 wings in order to go for it last year. Didn't work out, I would say mostly because Ben and Joel didn't fully show up vs Toronto. But, one could say they should've won that series if Joel could score vs Gasol, and could be champs due to the KD injury. I would say, not bad, considering Brand really only fully took over at the beginning of the 18-19 season.

This past off-season, considering they were going to need to extend Simmons and the team wouldn't really have much cap moving forward, and the team not being a free agent destination had to make the most of the assets they had, while hopefully getting guys that could grow with their young stars.

Let's just say Jimmy may have stayed for the full max(doesn't seem like it). His defense at this point has diminished, especially against quicker guards, and really bigger wings too (good team defender). He also didn't get along with some of the players, or coach. He also can't space the floor as a shooter, his shot comes off the bounce. Brand essentially decided to get a younger, cheaper, better defending guard, who last year was better at catch and shoot opportunities in Richardson. Then to take a shot at an all star player that has a versatile skillset, that would seem to fit next to the group in Horford, that could also defend multiple positions. Idea being he can help the team when Joel isn't on the floor, which was a bigger issue last year. Also, needing to sure up some of the team's issues, and actually acquire an asset to not let a lot of the cap space dry up due to the Ben extension. Possibly even a replacement at center if Joel needed to be traded for say a Bradley Beale to pair with Ben and Tobias.

I would say all of these moves make sense. The entire starting lineup is well rounded and can score on all 3 levels except Ben of course, who is one of the best playmakers and elite at everything in the game except being a shooter.

Brand also locked up Milton for next to nothing for 4 years, and beat the Celtics in a deal for Thybulle who seems capable of growing into another starter level player that can be all defense and shoot the ball at a solid clip, while being athletic and capable of making decisions with the ball on the ground.

My only gripe with him was something no one brings up or seems to agree with me on. That's getting nothing for Markelle.

Last off season was big, but we'll see more about Brand as he makes decisions on coaches for the first time, and how he finalizes what should be as close contender after the fall out of his first full year. I think pretty much everyone on the roster is a movable piece, and quality asset. That's a good thing.

I feel that a part of the reason that free agents stars didnt want to come was that it would not be their team where they could demand and get roster changes and at the same time the fit issues where obvious and it was not clear how the while thing would work.


Brand's move were terrible. Part of this was incentivized by the lack of perimeter creation but Brand's strategy was to always get the low hanging fruit. Pay for players like Horford and Harris more than anyone else would and despite them not being a solution. Even if the Sixers were some how competitive this year it would have been despite Brand's moves not because of them. Harris is a player that wants to create rather than space the floor. The problem is that he is a low level creator and lacks any passing vision. Which is why West offered him 20 mil and why he traded him when we gave him some assets. What Brand gave him was such an overpay that no sane GM would try to match it. The argument that if Harris got less the Sixers would still not have been able to use the money is wrong imo as the Sixers would have been able at least to trade him without spending assets or getting bad contracts back. Horford was an even worse signing, again there was no competition for Brand because no one would offer Horford that money. The fact that Brand spent the entire cap space on grossly overpaid players that dont fit tells you exactly how good GM he is. He has been bad in trades, free agent signing and player evaluation and lacks any long term thinking. The team hasnt been improving, other than the close series with the Raptors, over the last two years despite the assets and cap spaced used (of course Colangelo is partly to blame).

To be fair, the Simmons situation was not ideal. A player with very high potential, but not a very good fit with your best player and not hugely useful in the half court offense. The Sixers needed perimeter creation, that Simmons could not provide, and they tried to get that with Butler and Harris who were also bad fits as everyone needs the ball to provide his value. It was on him, as GM, to decide to either trade Simmons when his value was higher, if he didnt believe him as a player or that he could reach his ceiling with the Sixers, or, in the opposite case, to build a team that will help him reach his ceiling. Instead he created a dysfunctional, overpaid team. He was neither bold enough to trade Simmons if he thought he was overrated, nor patient enough to let Simmons develop by signing, if he couldnt get a star, roleplayers that fit and that are on good contracts and he was obviously a bad negotiator and player evaluator. If someone told us after Simmons rookie year that all the assets and cap space would result in overpaid Harris and Horford, people would not even think that it is with in the realm of possibility. That's how bad it is.

[Hussien Fatal]

Would he? Every player who has come had regressed. Need a different coach first.

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That’s not true. There has been a couple players that maximized their talents under Brett. Players like JJ, (had his best years here w/o question) Dario (regressed big time when he left), Covington had his best years here, tj improved massively under Brett, MCW regressed massively when he gig shipped out of town, Nerlens has his best season here. That’s just off the top of my head. Some players like Josh and Al I will admit are struggling here, but josh is playing in a smaller role and Al may just be on his last legs. There have been veteran players that have come here and Brett has no problem incorporating them into rotation and succeeding (Ersan and Marco)

Players that have struggled:
Josh
Jimmy
Al
Trey Burke
Alec Burks
Tobi, has been good but could be better
Glenn Robinson III
Richaun Holmes
Jerami Grant


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I gotta call you out on a couple of those players. Richaun improved big time under Brett. He went from struggling in the summer league to getting important rotational minutes (Played better with us than he did in Phoenix) and now in Sacramento he has turned himself into a starter. The same exact thing could be said about Jerami, He turned himself into a player under Brett And kept improving in okc and now in Denver. Alec the only thing that has regressed in his game since arriving is his playing time, he didn’t regress he is just playing a smaller role because he is on a much better team now. Jimmy was traded at the deadline so he only had a handful of games to get incorporated into the offense, and even still he was never fully comfortable in his short time here but he looked like the 2nd best player in the east last year when the playoffs started. I would hardly say that he regressed. Tobias is Tobias he hasn’t gotten worse and he hasnt gotten any better. He played his best ball in a half of season with the clippers where he shot 43% from 3 which was way better than his career average. He struggled last season and the beginning of this season while getting used to the offense. Now that he is settled in he is getting better not worse. And again Trey did not regress his minutes and role did, but he actually played great when Brett called his number. AL may be on his last legs. And Glenn honestly is a mystery. He is a very average to below average player. He honestly isn’t even worth mentioning, he hasn’t had much time to settle into a role, he was a starter for GS playing over 30mpg. He struggled with his shot and role when he first got here but I think it’s too soon to suggest he regressed as a player.

Brett has had no problem with developing players in fact I think that’s one of his strong suits.

[eyeatoma]

That’s not true. There has been a couple players that maximized their talents under Brett. Players like JJ, (had his best years here w/o question) Dario (regressed big time when he left), Covington had his best years here, tj improved massively under Brett, MCW regressed massively when he gig shipped out of town, Nerlens has his best season here. That’s just off the top of my head. Some players like Josh and Al I will admit are struggling here, but josh is playing in a smaller role and Al may just be on his last legs. There have been veteran players that have come here and Brett has no problem incorporating them into rotation and succeeding (Ersan and Marco)

Players that have struggled:
Josh
Jimmy
Al
Trey Burke
Alec Burks
Tobi, has been good but could be better
Glenn Robinson III
Richaun Holmes
Jerami Grant


Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

I gotta call you out on a couple of those players. Richaun improved big time under Brett. He went from struggling in the summer league to getting important rotational minutes (Played better with us than he did in Phoenix) and now in Sacramento he has turned himself into a starter. The same exact thing could be said about Jerami, He turned himself into a player under Brett And kept improving in okc and now in Denver. Alec the only thing that has regressed in his game since arriving is his playing time, he didn’t regress he is just playing a smaller role because he is on a much better team now. Jimmy was traded at the deadline so he only had a handful of games to get incorporated into the offense, and even still he was never fully comfortable in his short time here but he looked like the 2nd best player in the east last year when the playoffs started. I would hardly say that he regressed. Tobias is Tobias he hasn’t gotten worse and he hasnt gotten any better. He played his best ball in a half of season with the clippers where he shot 43% from 3 which was way better than his career average. He struggled last season and the beginning of this season while getting used to the offense. Now that he is settled in he is getting better not worse. And again Trey did not regress his minutes and role did, but he actually played great when Brett called his number. AL may be on his last legs. And Glenn honestly is a mystery. He is a very average to below average player. He honestly isn’t even worth mentioning, he hasn’t had much time to settle into a role, he was a starter for GS playing over 30mpg. He struggled with his shot and role when he first got here but I think it’s too soon to suggest he regressed as a player.

Brett has had no problem with developing players in fact I think that’s one of his strong suits.

Why are these players playing far lesser roles? We need perimeter players who can create their own shot. They seem to be siphoned to the corner and to be players whose skills weren't used in a way that would best benefit our team. Are you telling me we couldn't use Trey Burke's PNR shot creating ability right now? Why did we have to trade Richaun, who would have been a fine backup to Embiid. Could have stuck with him, and not gone for Al Horford. Jerami Grant was an excellent 3 and D player who could have slid into the starting lineup, or played 25-30 minutes from the bench. Raul Neto has no business getting so many more minutes than Burks. Yes Burks have had some turnovers, but that's probably because they haven't gotten used to the offense.

Jimmy was shipped off because Ben couldn't stand playing with him, and didn't want to play 3rd fiddle on offense while Jimmy ran the PnR. Jimmy also had to beg Brett to get him out of the corner and utilize him to his full abilities. For all the things you say about Brett improving or developing these players, none are still on this team, so it's been for null. The players we currently have are worse facsimiles of what we already had, or neutered versions of what they were on other teams.

Also, not sure if I mentioned Josh Richardson, but he should be a much better player than he is. I agree that injuries have robbed him of an opportunity to be consistent, I'm just not sure he's been given the chance to shine.

You can't keep saying these players are playing worse because they have smaller roles. Obviously they might not play full starter minutes, but they deserved more time than they got. Brown seems to allow some players a huge leash when it comes to making mistakes, but others get the boot far quicker.

[Hussien Fatal]

Players that have struggled:
Josh
Jimmy
Al
Trey Burke
Alec Burks
Tobi, has been good but could be better
Glenn Robinson III
Richaun Holmes
Jerami Grant


Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

I gotta call you out on a couple of those players. Richaun improved big time under Brett. He went from struggling in the summer league to getting important rotational minutes (Played better with us than he did in Phoenix) and now in Sacramento he has turned himself into a starter. The same exact thing could be said about Jerami, He turned himself into a player under Brett And kept improving in okc and now in Denver. Alec the only thing that has regressed in his game since arriving is his playing time, he didn’t regress he is just playing a smaller role because he is on a much better team now. Jimmy was traded at the deadline so he only had a handful of games to get incorporated into the offense, and even still he was never fully comfortable in his short time here but he looked like the 2nd best player in the east last year when the playoffs started. I would hardly say that he regressed. Tobias is Tobias he hasn’t gotten worse and he hasnt gotten any better. He played his best ball in a half of season with the clippers where he shot 43% from 3 which was way better than his career average. He struggled last season and the beginning of this season while getting used to the offense. Now that he is settled in he is getting better not worse. And again Trey did not regress his minutes and role did, but he actually played great when Brett called his number. AL may be on his last legs. And Glenn honestly is a mystery. He is a very average to below average player. He honestly isn’t even worth mentioning, he hasn’t had much time to settle into a role, he was a starter for GS playing over 30mpg. He struggled with his shot and role when he first got here but I think it’s too soon to suggest he regressed as a player.

Brett has had no problem with developing players in fact I think that’s one of his strong suits.

Why are these players playing far lesser roles? We need perimeter players who can create their own shot. They seem to be siphoned to the corner and to be players whose skills weren't used in a way that would best benefit our team. Are you telling me we couldn't use Trey Burke's PNR shot creating ability right now? Why did we have to trade Richaun, who would have been a fine backup to Embiid. Could have stuck with him, and not gone for Al Horford. Jerami Grant was an excellent 3 and D player who could have slid into the starting lineup, or played 25-30 minutes from the bench. Raul Neto has no business getting so many more minutes than Burks. Yes Burks have had some turnovers, but that's probably because they haven't gotten used to the offense.

Jimmy was shipped off because Ben couldn't stand playing with him, and didn't want to play 3rd fiddle on offense while Jimmy ran the PnR. Jimmy also had to beg Brett to get him out of the corner and utilize him to his full abilities. For all the things you say about Brett improving or developing these players, none are still on this team, so it's been for null. The players we currently have are worse facsimiles of what we already had, or neutered versions of what they were on other teams.

Also, not sure if I mentioned Josh Richardson, but he should be a much better player than he is. I agree that injuries have robbed him of an opportunity to be consistent, I'm just not sure he's been given the chance to shine.

You can't keep saying these players are playing worse because they have smaller roles. Obviously they might not play full starter minutes, but they deserved more time than they got. Brown seems to allow some players a huge leash when it comes to making mistakes, but others get the boot far quicker.

I actually never said they got worse because their role got smaller. you Implied that.

Trey is a journey man he is not the type of player you want creating for himself or other every time down the floor. That is a job reserved for the elite offensive players in the league and unfortunately there aren’t too many of those players out there. I lost no sleep when we lost Trey. Do I like trey more than Neto? Yes I do, but when it comes to bench players on minimum contracts I don’t mind Brett giving the minutes to whoever he feels deserves them because he is the one who sees these guys everyday in practice and in workouts maybe Neto performs at a higher level behind the scenes. Neither one of us know the reasoning behind it but I trust his better judgement when it comes to the 9th and 10th rotational players.

Richaun I would have kept, but getting AL clearly was a priority and not a bad one considering we see Boston very often and Joel can not compete with AL’s defense. And as far as Jermaine goes was Brett the GM when we got rid of him? If not I’m not sure how you could blame that on Brett. If I remember correctly Jerami was getting plenty of playing time here.

And with all due respect I find it funny that you complain about Jimmy being in the corner when most of if not all Sixers fan were begging for Jimmy to shoot more 3’s from the corner, and of course he refused. But I find it unfair that you would fault him for that when in fact Brett was trying to enforce the importance of spacing by forcing Jimmy out behind the 3 point line.

And yes these players are gone but there are still players on the roster that Brett has developed into very decent players. Such as Shake who went from the g league to starting on a playoff team shooting a ridiculous 45% from 3. Then there is Furkan who has turned himself into a nice rotational piece (after almost leaving for Europe) who now provides strong shooting off the bench. And can’t forget about Mattise who struggled shooting the 3 his last year in college to now being a legitimate 3-D guy. Norvelle looks much improved on the defensive end.

Brett isn’t perfect but he is not some terrible coach who makes player worse. It’s literally the opposite.

Year after year Brett has to deal with a very flawed roster at domes point in the season. Last year was by far the best roster Brett has ever coached (that roster still had major flaws) and we were 4 bounces away from possibly winning a championship.

[kuclas]

Horford is a better defensive PF than Tobias. That is 100% true.

Tobias defending other opposing SFs though like Tatum and Middleton and maybe Butler would be very unideal though (let alone matching up against LeBron or Kawhi if we even get that far).

And Tobi is going to be difficult to hide considering we are already trying to hide Shake in the backcourt.

The idea of Ben at the 4 is that we could give him the harder frontcourt assignment (the best opposing SF or PF) and hide Tobi on the weaker frontcourt assignment (ideally some one dimensional spot-up shooter where tobi won't get torched off the dribble and can just focus on rebounding). That would have been ideal at least.

We don't have that defensive luxury anymore as Al can't defend 3s. So Tobi will have to guard 3s (which means guys like Middleton, Tatum, and Butler who are all in the All-NBA conversation right now).

Which is why Al at the 4 is going to be a massive problem for us defensively.

Edit: which is why I am possibly for Thybulle starting in place of Simmons rather than Horford. I don't know if Thybulle can defend the Butler's, the Middleton's, and Tatum's of the world without fouling out. He seems better equipped to backcourt assignments and he got torched by Doncic earlier. But I think he stands a better chance than Tobi at those type of assignments.

We cannot replaced simmons versatility defending 1-4. It is a big loss defensively. But our offense struggles in the playoffs in the half court the last 2 seasons. Unless its run and gun style which only worked for the first game against the Miami heat in 2018 playoffs than everything slowed to a crawl the rest of the 2018 playoffs (outside of the first 18 minutes of Celtics game 2 playoff as well). As Celtics figured out how to focus on Embiid (by laying off Simmons) and having Simmon's man sag in.

This has been the blueprint to defend the Sixers in the halfcourt with Embiid.

So Sixers will have to live with the defensive lapses without Simmons. Hope Embiid does not get injured. And Embiid just needs to trust his teammates to make the open shots. There is gonna to be a lot of open looks. But Harris, Korkman, Burks, Richardson, MIlton have to make at least 1/3 of their outside shots. They all won't fall down. But we just need to shoot 33% from 3 point land (that's below NBA average) but this forces the opposing team's defense to commit to Embiid quicker or to back off quicker.

So Embiid getting into position in the post is so key. He cannot waste 10 seconds trying to dribble down Gasol in the post.

When Simmons is in the paint, it is rarely ever Simmon's man that is doubling Embiid in the post

They don't need to double cause Simmons in the paint clogs up Embiid in the paint. You can't have two bigs in the paint at the same time. It's idiotic

I"m talking about a traditional point guard feeding the ball into the point. AKA Simmons throwing the ball into the post to Embiid. Simmons man sags off if he's any where beyond the free throw line. They know he won't shoot.

And why would Simmons man leave him alone in the post to double team Embiid, that's idiotic. They'd prefer Simmons AND embiid in the post at the same time cause 2 guys can cover a small area much easier.

[Hussien Fatal]

I gotta call you out on a couple of those players. Richaun improved big time under Brett. He went from struggling in the summer league to getting important rotational minutes (Played better with us than he did in Phoenix) and now in Sacramento he has turned himself into a starter. The same exact thing could be said about Jerami, He turned himself into a player under Brett And kept improving in okc and now in Denver. Alec the only thing that has regressed in his game since arriving is his playing time, he didn’t regress he is just playing a smaller role because he is on a much better team now. Jimmy was traded at the deadline so he only had a handful of games to get incorporated into the offense, and even still he was never fully comfortable in his short time here but he looked like the 2nd best player in the east last year when the playoffs started. I would hardly say that he regressed. Tobias is Tobias he hasn’t gotten worse and he hasnt gotten any better. He played his best ball in a half of season with the clippers where he shot 43% from 3 which was way better than his career average. He struggled last season and the beginning of this season while getting used to the offense. Now that he is settled in he is getting better not worse. And again Trey did not regress his minutes and role did, but he actually played great when Brett called his number. AL may be on his last legs. And Glenn honestly is a mystery. He is a very average to below average player. He honestly isn’t even worth mentioning, he hasn’t had much time to settle into a role, he was a starter for GS playing over 30mpg. He struggled with his shot and role when he first got here but I think it’s too soon to suggest he regressed as a player.

Brett has had no problem with developing players in fact I think that’s one of his strong suits.

Why are these players playing far lesser roles? We need perimeter players who can create their own shot. They seem to be siphoned to the corner and to be players whose skills weren't used in a way that would best benefit our team. Are you telling me we couldn't use Trey Burke's PNR shot creating ability right now? Why did we have to trade Richaun, who would have been a fine backup to Embiid. Could have stuck with him, and not gone for Al Horford. Jerami Grant was an excellent 3 and D player who could have slid into the starting lineup, or played 25-30 minutes from the bench. Raul Neto has no business getting so many more minutes than Burks. Yes Burks have had some turnovers, but that's probably because they haven't gotten used to the offense.

Jimmy was shipped off because Ben couldn't stand playing with him, and didn't want to play 3rd fiddle on offense while Jimmy ran the PnR. Jimmy also had to beg Brett to get him out of the corner and utilize him to his full abilities. For all the things you say about Brett improving or developing these players, none are still on this team, so it's been for null. The players we currently have are worse facsimiles of what we already had, or neutered versions of what they were on other teams.

Also, not sure if I mentioned Josh Richardson, but he should be a much better player than he is. I agree that injuries have robbed him of an opportunity to be consistent, I'm just not sure he's been given the chance to shine.

You can't keep saying these players are playing worse because they have smaller roles. Obviously they might not play full starter minutes, but they deserved more time than they got. Brown seems to allow some players a huge leash when it comes to making mistakes, but others get the boot far quicker.

I actually never said they got worse because their role got smaller. you Implied that.

Trey is a journey man he is not the type of player you want creating for himself or other every time down the floor. That is a job reserved for the elite offensive players in the league and unfortunately there aren’t too many of those players out there. I lost no sleep when we lost Trey. Do I like trey more than Neto? Yes I do, but when it comes to bench players on minimum contracts I don’t mind Brett giving the minutes to whoever he feels deserves them because he is the one who sees these guys everyday in practice and in workouts maybe Neto performs at a higher level behind the scenes. Neither one of us know the reasoning behind it but I trust his better judgement when it comes to the 9th and 10th rotational players.

Richaun I would have kept, but getting AL clearly was a priority and not a bad one considering we see Boston very often and Joel can not compete with AL’s defense. And as far as Jerami goes was Brett the GM when we got rid of him? If not I’m not sure how you could blame that on Brett. If I remember correctly Jerami was getting plenty of playing time here.

And with all due respect I find it funny that you complain about Jimmy being in the corner when most of if not all Sixers fan were begging for Jimmy to shoot more 3’s from the corner, and of course he refused. But I find it unfair that you would fault him for that when in fact Brett was trying to enforce the importance of spacing by forcing Jimmy out behind the 3 point line.

And yes these players are gone but there are still players on the roster that Brett has developed into very decent players. Such as Shake who went from the g league to starting on a playoff team shooting a ridiculous 45% from 3. Then there is Furkan who has turned himself into a nice rotational piece (after almost leaving for Europe) who now provides strong shooting off the bench. And can’t forget about Mattise who struggled shooting the 3 his last year in college to now being a legitimate 3-D guy. Norvelle looks much improved on the defensive end.

Brett isn’t perfect but he is not some terrible coach who makes player worse. It’s literally the opposite.

Year after year Brett has to deal with a very flawed roster at domes point in the season. Last year was by far the best roster Brett has ever coached (that roster still had major flaws) and we were 4 bounces away from possibly winning a championship.

[Mik317]

yeah you can't use dudes like Grant and Holmes. They were still developing before we let them go. Them getting better after leaving is kinda what young players are supposed to do.

Burks and GR3 got numbers on the worst team in the league; thats not regression but rather just who they are.

There is also the simple fact that basketball isn't like videogames in which you can just plug and play dudes on the fly. The Heatles had the best player in the world, and two top 15 guys...and still came out the gate weak as **** and got bodied in the finals. Then Wade adjusted his game and Bosh sacrificed his game to be a spot up guy for Bron...and there ya go lol.

Brett has a role here too. I think his system is too **** rigid and predictable and idk if its MCW/Wroten ptsd but he doesn't seem to like having ballhandlers initiate via the drive but rather a pass happy system...which guys like Jimmy, Tobias, and Jrich simply don't fit in...where as dudes like JJ, Marco and Cov thrive in. I imagine with Ben out, we will see Horford return to his top of the key passing hub role that he loves. My point is that just like Embiid and Ben the front office hasn't gotten guys to fit Brett's system either lol. Now I don't think that system works but still it is what it is.

[Sixerscan]

Players that have struggled:
Josh
Jimmy
Al
Trey Burke
Alec Burks
Tobi, has been good but could be better
Glenn Robinson III
Richaun Holmes
Jerami Grant


Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

I gotta call you out on a couple of those players. Richaun improved big time under Brett. He went from struggling in the summer league to getting important rotational minutes (Played better with us than he did in Phoenix) and now in Sacramento he has turned himself into a starter. The same exact thing could be said about Jerami, He turned himself into a player under Brett And kept improving in okc and now in Denver. Alec the only thing that has regressed in his game since arriving is his playing time, he didn’t regress he is just playing a smaller role because he is on a much better team now. Jimmy was traded at the deadline so he only had a handful of games to get incorporated into the offense, and even still he was never fully comfortable in his short time here but he looked like the 2nd best player in the east last year when the playoffs started. I would hardly say that he regressed. Tobias is Tobias he hasn’t gotten worse and he hasnt gotten any better. He played his best ball in a half of season with the clippers where he shot 43% from 3 which was way better than his career average. He struggled last season and the beginning of this season while getting used to the offense. Now that he is settled in he is getting better not worse. And again Trey did not regress his minutes and role did, but he actually played great when Brett called his number. AL may be on his last legs. And Glenn honestly is a mystery. He is a very average to below average player. He honestly isn’t even worth mentioning, he hasn’t had much time to settle into a role, he was a starter for GS playing over 30mpg. He struggled with his shot and role when he first got here but I think it’s too soon to suggest he regressed as a player.

Brett has had no problem with developing players in fact I think that’s one of his strong suits.

Why are these players playing far lesser roles? We need perimeter players who can create their own shot. They seem to be siphoned to the corner and to be players whose skills weren't used in a way that would best benefit our team. Are you telling me we couldn't use Trey Burke's PNR shot creating ability right now? Why did we have to trade Richaun, who would have been a fine backup to Embiid. Could have stuck with him, and not gone for Al Horford. Jerami Grant was an excellent 3 and D player who could have slid into the starting lineup, or played 25-30 minutes from the bench. Raul Neto has no business getting so many more minutes than Burks. Yes Burks have had some turnovers, but that's probably because they haven't gotten used to the offense.

Jimmy was shipped off because Ben couldn't stand playing with him, and didn't want to play 3rd fiddle on offense while Jimmy ran the PnR. Jimmy also had to beg Brett to get him out of the corner and utilize him to his full abilities. For all the things you say about Brett improving or developing these players, none are still on this team, so it's been for null. The players we currently have are worse facsimiles of what we already had, or neutered versions of what they were on other teams.

Also, not sure if I mentioned Josh Richardson, but he should be a much better player than he is. I agree that injuries have robbed him of an opportunity to be consistent, I'm just not sure he's been given the chance to shine.

You can't keep saying these players are playing worse because they have smaller roles. Obviously they might not play full starter minutes, but they deserved more time than they got. Brown seems to allow some players a huge leash when it comes to making mistakes, but others get the boot far quicker.

Well the reason why he had to beg him to change was because the offense was like top 5 in the league running the way it was and it would be weird to mess with that...

For all the complaints about Brett's offense it's been average or better each of the last three years despite all the turnover and injuries.

Give him 70-75 games of Embiid and Simmons, don't make whole scale changes to the roster or make him do anything weird like integrate Fultz or Horford into lineups that don't make sense, guessing the offense would do a lot better.

Will probably never get a shot at that though. Hopefully the next guy is more lucky.

[mike76]

We cannot replaced simmons versatility defending 1-4. It is a big loss defensively. But our offense struggles in the playoffs in the half court the last 2 seasons. Unless its run and gun style which only worked for the first game against the Miami heat in 2018 playoffs than everything slowed to a crawl the rest of the 2018 playoffs (outside of the first 18 minutes of Celtics game 2 playoff as well). As Celtics figured out how to focus on Embiid (by laying off Simmons) and having Simmon's man sag in.

This has been the blueprint to defend the Sixers in the halfcourt with Embiid.

So Sixers will have to live with the defensive lapses without Simmons. Hope Embiid does not get injured. And Embiid just needs to trust his teammates to make the open shots. There is gonna to be a lot of open looks. But Harris, Korkman, Burks, Richardson, MIlton have to make at least 1/3 of their outside shots. They all won't fall down. But we just need to shoot 33% from 3 point land (that's below NBA average) but this forces the opposing team's defense to commit to Embiid quicker or to back off quicker.

So Embiid getting into position in the post is so key. He cannot waste 10 seconds trying to dribble down Gasol in the post.

When Simmons is in the paint, it is rarely ever Simmon's man that is doubling Embiid in the post

They don't need to double cause Simmons in the paint clogs up Embiid in the paint. You can't have two bigs in the paint at the same time. It's idiotic

I"m talking about a traditional point guard feeding the ball into the point. AKA Simmons throwing the ball into the post to Embiid. Simmons man sags off if he's any where beyond the free throw line. They know he won't shoot.

And why would Simmons man leave him alone in the post to double team Embiid, that's idiotic. They'd prefer Simmons AND embiid in the post at the same time cause 2 guys can cover a small area much easier.

On every post-up there is always going to be another guy in the paint ready for a putback regardless of whether it is or isn't Ben. And that person in the paint will never be left unguarded.

Just going off the 4th quarter of the Wizards games:

https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1&GameID=0021901263&GameEventID=656&Season=2019-20&title=Embiid%2016%27%20Fadeaway%20Jumper%20(25%20PTS)&sct=plot

Here, it is Tobi in the paint looking for a putback.

https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1&GameID=0021901263&GameEventID=649&Season=2019-20&title=Richardson%20%203PT%20Jump%20Shot%20(15%20PTS)%20(Embiid%203%20AST)&sct=plot

Here it is Al in the paint.

https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=1&GameID=0021901263&GameEventID=580&Season=2019-20&title=Harris%202%27%20Driving%20Finger%20Roll%20Layup%20(15%20PTS)%20(Embiid%202%20AST)&sct=plot

Here it is Thybulle in the dunker spot.

Having a guy in the dunker spot during a post-up is normal spacing. The only thing that makes the Simmons-Embiid frontcourt unique is that due to being a non-shooter, only Simmons can stay in the dunker spot and the other 3 guys must be good shooters.

[Bum Adebayo]

Ben Simmons is damaged goods and Tobias Harris is just a Carmelo Anthony that makes 15 times more money, a total joke. This team is a joke man.

[Kobblehead]

With Simmons sidelined, our playoff defense is going to be pretty tough to watch. We would have had a few too many bad defenders in the rotation regardless, but now it's just going to be comically bad.

[76ciology]

Spoiler:

The reason why you need Harris is because of Ben and Biid.

The reason why you ended up overpaying Harris is because we are not the Lakers, Knicks or Heat.

The reason why Butler is not here is because of Ben.

The reason why we have to trade for Tobias is because we can’t afford to not have him given how much talent we need to win with Biid and Ben.

Harris is overpaid. Not as good as most star wings like Paul George or Kawhi, but he is here with us and I want him to succeed.

Seriously everybody's opinion here as it relates to what a GM for the Sixers, should or shouldn't have done is like they're playing 2K. Taking Leonard for Simmons, knowing he would leave? Really, so Philly could have Butler, Tobias, and Embiid. No one really knows whether Jimmy would've stayed either.


The problem is exactly what you stated, Philly isn't a destination city that can pull in free agents. They went after LeBron and others, didn't work... No one wanted to play with Joel and Ben. So they traded young assets for 2 wings in order to go for it last year. Didn't work out, I would say mostly because Ben and Joel didn't fully show up vs Toronto. But, one could say they should've won that series if Joel could score vs Gasol, and could be champs due to the KD injury. I would say, not bad, considering Brand really only fully took over at the beginning of the 18-19 season.

This past off-season, considering they were going to need to extend Simmons and the team wouldn't really have much cap moving forward, and the team not being a free agent destination had to make the most of the assets they had, while hopefully getting guys that could grow with their young stars.

Let's just say Jimmy may have stayed for the full max(doesn't seem like it). His defense at this point has diminished, especially against quicker guards, and really bigger wings too (good team defender). He also didn't get along with some of the players, or coach. He also can't space the floor as a shooter, his shot comes off the bounce. Brand essentially decided to get a younger, cheaper, better defending guard, who last year was better at catch and shoot opportunities in Richardson. Then to take a shot at an all star player that has a versatile skillset, that would seem to fit next to the group in Horford, that could also defend multiple positions. Idea being he can help the team when Joel isn't on the floor, which was a bigger issue last year. Also, needing to sure up some of the team's issues, and actually acquire an asset to not let a lot of the cap space dry up due to the Ben extension. Possibly even a replacement at center if Joel needed to be traded for say a Bradley Beale to pair with Ben and Tobias.

I would say all of these moves make sense. The entire starting lineup is well rounded and can score on all 3 levels except Ben of course, who is one of the best playmakers and elite at everything in the game except being a shooter.

Brand also locked up Milton for next to nothing for 4 years, and beat the Celtics in a deal for Thybulle who seems capable of growing into another starter level player that can be all defense and shoot the ball at a solid clip, while being athletic and capable of making decisions with the ball on the ground.

My only gripe with him was something no one brings up or seems to agree with me on. That's getting nothing for Markelle.

Last off season was big, but we'll see more about Brand as he makes decisions on coaches for the first time, and how he finalizes what should be as close contender after the fall out of his first full year. I think pretty much everyone on the roster is a movable piece, and quality asset. That's a good thing.

I think we’re seeing eye to eye.

For the record, I’m also one of the minority here that wanted to trade Ben for Kawhi. But now knowing Kawhi would leave regardless justifies the FO not pulling the trigger on a Ben trade and was low balling the Spurs with some Roco deal.

In terms of our roster this year, i’ve said over and over again why I think our roster makes sense. And I believe if we give more time for our roster to gel, we can be a great playoff squad. I’m crossing my fingers that our team continues to play well with Al, while Milton and Thybulle continues their growth.

One underrated move that could be a coincidence or an intentional move was hiding Milton and showcasing Shamet. I’d rather have Milton over Shamet, anyday.

EB has been underratedly good IMO. Maybe it’s me being an OG. But when he gets talent he does it with value and purpose. Transitioning our team from pre-brand to jimmy butler sixers to what our team is right now is impressive for me.

[kuclas]

With Simmons sidelined, our playoff defense is going to be pretty tough to watch. We would have had a few too many bad defenders in the rotation regardless, but now it's just going to be comically bad.

We weren’t gonna to win even with Simmons fully healthy. The team just struggles in half court. I enjoyed the 2017-2018 season when we were running up and down and more importantly we were swinging the ball around and many of the baskets were on assists.

This team has been miserable to watch since game 2 of the Miami Heat first round series in 2018. It’s like they figured out how to defend the sixers. Even with Embiid being out so many games and Simmons having free reign to operate, the team gets stuck in half court sets this past season.

We are just not a good team. And you are right, no Simmons means we are gonna to give up even more points and our only chance of winning is to keep the score in the 80s and 90s.

[youngcrev]

Getting worried about Ben's longevity now. Sounds like this could become a chronic and degenerative condition that ruins his athleticism if not treated properly. Also before surgery he has a 30% corner of recurrence. After surgery I'm not sure. This is just sad and depressing.

The fact that they said Bynum had the same condition worries the hell out of me.

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

http://instreetclothes.com/2020/08/06/understanding-ben-simmons-patella-subluxation/

Pretty good breakdown of the injury that Bodner linked to in his article today.

The biggest issue following these types of injuries usually depends on the amount of damage sustained by the stabilizing structures in the area. The patella is equipped with ligaments that help hold it in place, but a subluxation can result in tearing of these structures. Cartilage damage can also occur. Fortunately, an MRI on Simmons was reportedly clean, suggesting these structures remain intact.

Several NBA players have suffered patella subluxations and dislocations in recent seasons, including Allen Crabbe earlier this year. Crabbe was back in action in 11 days, missing three games, following his injury. Former big man Chris Wilcox missed just five games following his patellar subluxation during the 2008-09 season. The other notable examples, including Andrew Bynum and Sergey Karasev, missed substantially more time, but those cases involved serious secondary damage to bone, ligament, and cartilage. Treatments options, including surgery, also influence the recovery timeline.

Great reason to be optimistic about him returning (if this wasn't the Sixers we were talking about)

[elchengue20]

I am slowly moving to the trade Simmons camp, although of course his injury may make it more difficult to get good value.

Just looking at the other teams it is quite disheartening to see how easy they can generate looks, while we mostly just iso abd hope for the best.

And i dont think Brown is the main guy to blame for that. Ideally you want to be able to play with 5 out so that you can drive to the basket or take advantage of mismatches more easily. In the absence of that you need to be able to play 4 out with a guy mainly being in the paint either because he is not good shooter or because he is much more effective there.

The Sixers are trying to play with two paint players and it is hard to see that working unless they have a big talent advantage. It is not only that it makes things harder for Simmons and Embiid in the paint but that it also make it more difficult to have some dribble penetration, which the team sorely misses, because of how packed the paint is. You can see how there is more space with Horford moving to the bench and even more when there is one of Embiid/Simmons playing. The Rockets are playing without center precisely for this reason, they had two players that were not shooting threats in Capella and Westbrook and it was not working. Of course it is easier to decide to trade Capella than Simmons (and the Rockets are probably more desperate) but the question one should ask is whether Simmons will ever be a dominant enough player to justify that disadvantage or to force Embiid to spend more time on the perimeter. Whether the team with Simmons could be better than the team where we have traded him for a star that fits better and provides shooting and shot creation from the perimeter. And Simmons trajectory thus far doesnt make me very optimistic.

The "trade Simmons" camp only makes sense if you actually say your acceptable returns. If you don't actually say what player you want back, then it's impossible for anyone to debate you and determine whether the trade makes us better.

If the return is just a bunch of 3 and D guys and Embiid is your only superstar (ie go the Bucks route), well that is a nice second round team as well but that's not a championship team considering Giannis > Embiid and Middleton/Bledsoe blow away Tobi/Josh.

If your return is just a Jrue Holiday caliber guard, well I hate to say it, but the Pels already tried that with AD (who most people would argue is better than Embiid)/Jrue core and they peaked as a sixth seed/second round team in the West.

We really only get better by trading Ben if we get a better player(s) than Ben. And most franchises aren't trying to trade away better players for worse players.

But if you propose some Lillard or Steph Curry type trade, then go for it. Don't know what the other team would say.

but saying you want to trade Ben and not saying what you want back doesn't actually allow anyone to debate you because no one knows if the trade allows us to get better.

Of course if you trade Simmons it must be for another star, and maybe some picks(depending on the star age, potential and contract). I don't think anybody who wants to trade him expect any less than a good package including a star.

I would pull the trigger in a Beal deal. But with Wall locked in long term i found difficult that the Wizards really value Simmons that much. Maybe it could be a 3 team trade.

Another trade idea i had before the bubble was Simmons, Tobias for Shae, CP3, Gallinari (and/or picks).

Maybe we could trade him for Lavine, but i would ask for more than him. Maybe Lavine and Markanen? At least that.

[nurseryc]

Relax, he won’t miss much time. Simmons is a generational talent that will lead us to title contention within his prime. You do not trade a talent like that. His one down fall was that he wouldn’t shoot 3s, well that’s all changed. He even shot a 3 in his last game. Chillax

[ProcessDoctor]

Besides the shot/threes, the thing that's holding me up most is his inability to take most defenders off the dribble/get to the rack. He usually tries one crossover, the defender doesn't bite, then he passes out. If he's ever able to shoot, I don't think he'll be someone who can shoot off the dribble.

[VDT]

Yes. Simmons size along with his more perimeter oriented skillset (dribbling, passing, speed) was his selling point. However if he cant use his size to shoot over opponents or to force his way to the basket, then size is not such a big deal anymore.

Like some bigs that can space the floor but cant do the things bigs do (rebounding, rim protection), they are simply not that useful.

[Kobblehead]

I think scoring off the dribble trumps passing ability on dictating whether or not you can play PG in the NBA.

So dudes that are great passers but can't beat guys off the dribble and score unassisted buckets cannot play PG.

Ben Simmons is a SF/PF.
Lonzo Ball is a SG/SF.