Don't Buy the Sixers' Supposedly Renewed Commitment to Ben Simmons
Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid barely even tried to hide it. After the Philadelphia 76ers' embarrassing Game 7 flameout against the underdog Atlanta Hawks, their ire and frustration boiled over into inflammatory post-game comments that seemed to seal Ben Simmons' future in the City of Brotherly Love.
Rivers, previously a steadfast, passionate defender of Simmons throughout the playoffs, cast open doubt on the possibility of him ever leading a team to a championship at point guard. Embiid pointed to Simmons' infamous non-dunk and pass with several minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as the "turning point" of a do-or-die game the Sixers had every opportunity to win.
Not even 24 hours had elapsed before Philadelphia began backtracking on that direct criticism of the league's latest punching bag. The Sixers, in fact, were committed to Simmons after all, and suddenly had a collaborative plan in place for him to make meaningful improvements as a shooter.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported as much on Thursday, noting that Philadelphia is approaching the offseason with Simmons as "a central part of the franchise." The 24-year-old has apparently already met with Rivers in person to discuss offseason development of his jumper, too.
The far more significant tidbit in ESPN's latest report on Simmons' status, though? That his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, sat down with the Sixers' front office brass to broach the "next steps" of Simmons' career—including the possibility of team and player working in conjunction to find a trade partner.
Paul engaged the Sixers on whether it makes sense to work together to find a trade before the start of next season, but no request was made and the sides are expected to continue talking ahead of the July 29 NBA draft and August free agency, sources said.
Paul is basketball's most effective player power broker, and Philadelphia front office honcho Daryl Morey is among the most aggressive head decision-makers in the league. Both know the surest path to Simmons reigniting his career elsewhere and the Sixers getting a worthwhile return for trading him means rehabilitating the former No. 1 pick's reputation by whatever means possible.
Rivers' sudden about-face regarding Simmons' future in Philadelphia was no coincidence. Simmons' broken jumper is no secret. What remains an open question league-wide is just how much room he has left for improvement, and any critiques from the team who would know that better than any other only further lowers Simmons' trade value, already at a nadir.
Will prospective trade partners like the Trail Blazers be fooled by the Sixers' new narrative? Doubtful. Simmons' track record of struggles the deeper he plays into the postseason speaks for itself. Any team willing to acquire him at this point will put much more stock in its own assessment of his remaining room for growth than the self-serving nature of Philadelphia's rhetoric, public and reported.
Simmons may not ever be put on the trade block. But as both he and his team grapple with the realities confirmed by his ugly playoff performance, the most important factor is both sides acknowledging the specter of a trade everyone across the league—including teams hoping to buy low on Simmons—see as a formality.