Ben Simmons’ Fit With The Philadelphia 76ers

Ben Simmons is likely to be a Philadelphia 76ers player next year. How will he fit with the current team that is set to be in place?

Since the beginning of last season it has been repeated and established by many that Ben Simmons would be a horrible fit with the Philadelphia 76ers with how the team is currently constructed. That thought/opinion has been expressed more times than anyone can imagine. This time around I want to talk about how the 76ers could pull off drafting Simmons without having to trade any of the big men on the team. Here are the steps that would have to be made for a lineup with Simmons, Jahlil Okafor, and Joel Embiid to work One should find that these steps aren’t all that difficult to achieve.

Step 1: Acquire two sharpshooters who hold their own on defense.

This is the most important step if the 76ers want to make this work. If the team’s main lineup features Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid on the floor at the same time, there absolutely needs to be two great shooters on the floor with them at all times. By great shooters I mean they need to be shooting 40 percent from 3-point land at the minimum. These two shooters should also preferably be at least average defenders.

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Too many times last year the 76ers guards played matador defense and put tons of pressure on Okafor and Nerlens Noel to save the play. Horrible guard defense made Okafor look even worse defensively. Also, the guards need to contain players because the more the opposition gets to the rim, the more likely the bigs get in foul trouble. If the two best scorers are in foul trouble all the time in Okafor and Embiid it would make it harder to win a lot of games.

Step 2: Development Staff/Shooting Coaches Need To Work Overtime

There are no ifs ands or buts if this thing is going to work out and the organization wants a dynasty to be made, the player development staff needs to be at its best ever. The 76ers developmental staff is already one of the best in the league but it wouldn’t hurt to go back and make sure they really have the best possible men and women for the job to help the players become the best they can be. Okafor has definitely improved his shot since college thanks to the staff and I’m hoping the same will happen for Simmons.

It’s not all on the staff though, as Simmons has to be willing to work hard. If Simmons can get even a slightly below average jumper instead of a terrible one then this thing can work out. Okafor most likely will have consistent long two range next season and Embiid has shown to have range out to the three point line (although we have to see it in game and not practice videos).

Step 3: Give Time For Players To Gel:

Sometimes even players that fit on paper don’t play well together once they step on the floor. There will no doubt be growing pains trying to get these three guys to be cohesive considering most of the guys on the team are in their first, second, or third seasons. I don’t know if a lineup with Okafor, Simmons, and Embiid will ever work but I know one thing: These guys are way too talented for the organization not to give them at least two years to figure it out before trading anybody if Simmons is drafted. In my opinion these three guys along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis are the best combination of talent and skills from the draft classes of 2012 through 2016. To possibly have three of them on the Philadelphia 76ers seems unreal.

The X-factor in this whole thing is Simmons’ shooting. If he can become even an average shooter I’m taking him no doubt over Brandon Ingram. Once the opposition has to respect Simmons’ shot even a little bit, it’s game over for the league. He gets to the rim at will without a jump-shot so once he has to be guarded tighter it will be a breeze for him.

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I don’t think the lane would be clogged either because while Embiid and Okafor are at their best down low, they both have the potential to be very good mid-range shooters with one of them showing three point range. When driving Simmons would either score, get fouled, or kick-out to either Embiid, Okafor, or the two theoretical shooters because his vision is so good. From there the shooters would of course shoot and Embiid and Okafor would either take the jumper or finesse their own way to the basket after receiving the pass. People don’t talk about it much but Embiid and Okafor have very good face-up games for their age.

Step 4: Jahlil Okafor Needs To Keep Improving His Body

The training staff did an amazing job in the past season helping Okafor shed some pounds. He still has a ways to go though to get to the optimal balance of losing weight to be faster while still being strong as ever to bang down low. Okafor will never be like Noel on his feet, but I believe he will be quick enough to guard a good deal of power forwards. He has shown to be very quick on the offensive side of the ball but it hasn’t translated to defense yet.

This leads me to believe that the majority of his defensive shortcomings comes from awareness and reaction time, not actual athleticism (although that does still play a part). When it comes to those quicker small ball power forwards, I’d still be comfortable playing Okafor at the four. Okafor will score on those small ball guys much more than they will score on him.

Also, if they get past Okafor, they still have to meet Embiid/Noel at the rim and even Simmons has shown to have good help-blocker potential. Some people say, “Then why would the other team make him guard Okafor?”. To that I say who else would they put the opposing small-ball guy on? 7-foot-2-inch Joel Embiid? That is just as bad for the opposing team if not worse than making him stick Okafor.

Conclusion:

When you really think about it, there really is a way for Simmons to fit on this team without trading anybody. It may not be a seamless fit like it would with drafting Brandon Ingram but it’s still possible. If it went according to plan, a lineup with Simmons, Okafor, and Embiid has endless potential on offense and defense. Having Dario Saric and Noel leading the bench would be the icing on top.

Next: Pros and Cons to Drafting Ben Simmons

Between the small and power forward positions along with center, there are 144 minutes to be allocated per game. Between the five main guys (Saric, Noel, Simmons, Okafor, Embiid) there’d be enough minutes for them all to get at least 28 minutes per game if it’s distributed evenly. That should be enough time for all of them to be satisfied and to stay with fresh legs. A team of Simmons, Saric, Okafor, Noel, and Embiid that’s actually cohesive? Sign me up. Now.