Philadelphia 76ers Pursue Ben Simmons w Brandon Ingram?

With Optimism Welling For Joel Embiid‘s Return, Can The Philadelphia 76ers land both Ben Simmons w Brandon Ingram?

For a moment in time, pretend you are meeting the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time. No History. No pre-conceptions. You are simply looking at who the team has and trying to fit the pieces together here and now. That’s the position of Bryan Colangelo now. That’s where we are.

Now imagine the 76ers drafting both Ben Simmons w Brandon Ingram, and then completing a trade for Atlanta Hawks veteran point guard Jeff Teague?  Are you starting to smile yet?   It can happen, and it’s all here…

Now let’s begin. In the NBA, you either start at the post or you start at the point guard. Since we have been con-centered around the five position, let’s start there. Starting at the center position for the Philadelphia 76ers means Joel Embiid. How will his foot hold up? How will he handle NBA competition? Well, there is truly only one way to find out, put him in there.

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The promise of his skill set is daunting indeed: 7’2″ tall and 250 pounds, Joel Embiid is debuting into the NBA at age 22… a very good age in the minds of Bryan Colangelo to start an NBA career. Joel Embiid has been the crown jewel of Sam Hinkie’s tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers, a lightning rod of the angst of his antagonists, but an embodiment of the lengths and breadths Hinkie was willing to go in order to ensure the promise of Embiid had a fighting chance in the NBA.

Despite the detractors, the patience appears to have paid off this time for the Philadelphia 76ers in the knowledge that Joel Embiid will be ready for the 2016-2017 season.

That news was further confirmed by head coach Brett Brown who had indicated that the Cameroon center’s scan gave a “fantastic” result on May 17, 2016.  With news like this percolating to the surface, it’s hard to deny that the first option at center will be Joel Embiid.

Now who fills the remaining roles of that team?

Next: Saric Steps Forward

Saric Steps Forward

The first roster spot to fill is the other player debuting for the Sixers this season.  Forward Dario Saric is  perfect complement to Joel Embiid.  Debuting in the NBA at a similar age of 22, standing 6’9″ and weighing in at 225 pounds, he is a curious blend of either power forward or small forward, and will give head coach coveted versatility.  He has great basketball IQ, can push the ball down the court to begin a transition game, can work the boards as well as shoot from the perimeter.  Check out this extract from an article I had written earlier in the year:

"When he moves to power forward, he has started in ten games and been averaging 23.4 minutes per game with 15.8 points. His shooting accuracy jumps to 56.82%, and he maintains a fairly impressive 5.9 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game, and 1.1 steals . Anadolu Efes record has been 7-3 with him at power forward."

Despite the promise of converting either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor to a serviceable power forward, the reality is that the days of experimentation and fitting pegs into misshaped slots has concluded from the moment the Sixers became under construction with news of the first pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.  The roster truly needs a power forward, and Saric gives the team the best option in terms of IQ, shooting, and defense.

With a post game managed by Embiid, Saric can play to his strengths – shooting 50% from the floor and 40% from the arc, and launching an incredible 94% from the foul line.   Saric also brings a physical presence to the boards – scooping up an average of 9 rebounds per game and passing off for 2 assists per game.

Next: Simmons Elitism To Small Forward

Simmons Elitism Slides into Small Forward

The debate will wage. Do the Sixers need a wing scorer, or an elite ball-handler who can pass, rebound, deadly accurate with free throw rate, stands 6’10” but plays like a point guard, with an NBA ready body, and whose versatility gives him an ability to defend guard and forwards?

Simmons is just an athlete who has tremendous upside, and his talents are absolutely NBA ready.  The knock on Simmons is his jumper, but focusing on that is like focusing on a quarterback who cannot outrun a defensive back.  He’s just simply better at more things than any other prospect entering the NBA this year. A player like Ben Simmons needs a solid compliment of teammates around him to make the shots.

Isn’t It Ironic Ingram Compliments Simmons So Well?  Simmons runs the floor, but he needs shooters to pass the ball to.  That’s the consensus of Bryan Colangelo.  But Colangelo elaborated even further:

"“He could actually play some three, some four, and some five in some situations the way the league is playing right now. But again, the notion that he’s a ball handling four puts him in a unique position with out team to be a distributor, etc.” – Bryan Colangelo discusses Ben Simmons"

Next: Trading for Ingram

Trading for Ingram

So Simmons needs shooters, the perfect description of Brandon Ingram, the other top prospect of the 2016 NBA draft. But if the Sixers determine that Ingram is that perfect compliment, wouldn’t it be wise to investigate trading for his talents now? This Sixers team is underway now. If there are any cards to play, wouldn’t now be the wisest time to do so?

Why would the Sixers consider such a trade?  Well listening to what Bryan Colangelo is saying, and knowing that he has a bevy of NBA draft picks going forward, he may determine that the time is now.  And we’ve already discussed trading Okafor to the Celtics for the number three pick.

"As you look at Brandon Ingram, more of a shooter, a silky smooth small forward type. Probably can play multiple positions as well, I think you have to look at his versatility. But, the one thing that stands out is his ability to shoot the basketball above all else.” -Bryan Colangelo discusses Brandon Ingram"

What would it take to get the second pick of the NBA draft away from the Los Angeles Lakers?

Well, we still have the rights to their first round pick, which is top-three protected in 2017 and is unfettered in 2018.  You can believe the Lakers, now commencing on their own rebuild process now, want more than anything to retain their draft picks going forward.  In the grand scheme, the Los Angeles Lakers need front court help, an area of strength for the Philadelphia 76ers.  Since the Lakers were very tempted to pull the trigger on Jahlil Okafor in the 2015 NBA draft, they could get a mulligan this year by swapping out the two pick for Okafor (help now) and their first round draft pick (help later).   Refusing an offer this lucrative would be very unwise.

By does it bring value to the Philadelphia 76ers?  It does, and in a very big way.  Whether the Sixers plant Ben Simmons at small forward or point guard, Brandon Ingram is the logical compliment at the shooting guard position.  His shooting keeps the pressure on the opposing defenses, and with both Saric and Simmons on the floor simultaneously, the ball movement will rival that of the Splash brothers from the Golden State Warriors.

So that brings us to the final roster spot.

Next: Spec-TEAGUE-ular

Spec-Teague-ular

Now the point guard. With Ben Simmons on the court, you are looking for a player who can score and defend. They can go back to the trading well once more to speak with the Atlanta Hawks about veteran point guard Jeff Teague.

The intriguing part about adding veteran Jeff Teague to this lineup is that he becomes the veteran presence on the floor, but his arrival would also accelerate his role to his strengths.  You see, Teague has never been a pass-first point guard, and will challenge any defense to stop him before he considers sharing the ball with a teammate.  That’s not to say he makes his living on volume shooting, but simply that he keeps defenses honest.

The point guard is dealing with the harsh reality that he is not the future of the Atlanta Hawks future.  Reports have him selling his Atlanta home, a posh 4,325 square feet posh condo, now.  You know that the 76ers have been linked to the Atlanta Hawk point guard, and the face of another sweep at the hands of the Cavaliers, we have already contemplated his arrival to the Philadelphia 76ers via trade.

The veteran Atlanta Hawk point guard averaged 16.8 points and 6.9 assists per game during the critical stretch  from Feb. 26 through April 9.  And during Atlanta’s first-round series against the Boston Celtics, Teague has led the Hawks in both scoring (19.7 ppg) and assists (7.7 apg) while shooting 54.5 percent on two-pointers and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Next: The Philadelphia 76ers Should Be Wise When Selecting First Overall

But it appears the Hawks are now ready to move on, and that creates a perfect opportunity for the Philadelphia 76ers to move in.  Teague, Ingram, Simmons, Saric, and Embiid.  The cost?  Jahlil Okafor and the Los Angeles Lakers protected 1st round pick for Ingram, plus the pair of late first round picks and Jerami Grant for Teague.

That’s a helluva lineup folks.