Ben Simmons Was the Philadelphia 76ers’ Best Option

I didn’t think Ben Simmons was the best prospect, nor was he the best immediate fit for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016. However, all things considered, he was clearly their best bet long term.

Philadelphia 76ers fans weren’t all that surprised on the night of the 2016 NBA Draft. Ben Simmons was already guaranteed the first overall selection, and the front office and fans alike had already begun the process of planning for a future based around the presumptive top pick.

However, the arguments as to whether or not Simmons was truly their best option never ceased entirely. Brandon Ingram was thought by many to be a better fit from a basketball perspective on a team that has lacked offensive firepower even since the Sam Hinkie-induced rebuild. Guards Jamal Murray and Kris Dunn even worked their way into the conversation, albeit in a less prominent fashion, as guys who could help right their dyer situation at the point guard spot.

Regardless of the opposition that was pitted against the pick in some circles, it’s beginning to seem increasingly clear than Simmons was indeed the right selection in the end. We haven’t seen him play an NBA game yet, so it’s still a tad bit early to make this declaration in any official manner, but with how the pieces have fallen into place thus far during the offseason and the intriguing options the Sixers are likely to face in the 2017 Draft, it seems like Simmons gives them the most organizational flexibility as a unit.

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I’ll be the first to admit I had both Jamal Murray and Brandon Ingram ranked higher as prospects in a vacuum. In a league that has become increasingly dependent on perimeter spacing, an elite multifaceted wing with Kevin Durant-esque semblances and the most gifted outside scorer in the class were certainly appealing options.

Even in the Sixers’ case, those two seemed almost preferable at times. Murray could go a long way in fixing both their point guard and their floor spacing problem, while Ingram could feasibly fix the latter and give them a go-to scoring option to boot moving forwards. Simmons lacked aggressiveness in college, and was a poor scorer outside the paint who didn’t really seem to have the leadership chops a young core like Philadelphia would want to build around. There were clear cut concerns, and he didn’t appear to be the absolute best choice at the time.

But when I widened by perspective a bit and watched Bryan Colangelo’s free agency moves fall into place, the Simmons pick began to make increasingly greater sense. Not only did he possess the most upside in the draft, but he gave them a piece that made the team a more desirable free agency destination and someone they could build around with a newfound willingness to pay for legitimate free agent talents.

All of the Sixers’ moves thus far be tailor made to play to Simmons’ strengths. Gerald Henderson and Jerryd Bayless are both strong shooters who immediately boost the Sixers’ dismal floor spacing on the outside while still allowing Simmons plenty of room to operate with the ball in his hands. Sergio Rodriguez gives them someone who can help take the load off of Simmons from a playmaking standpoint to an even greater extent than the aforementioned Bayless, while still giving them another viable off-ball shooter. The Sixers are also trying out a myriad of Summer League guards who could help round out the rotation around Simmons.

Bryan Colangelo has expedited the rebuilding process extensively in Philadelphia, and that is only going to allow them to place Simmons into the best situation possible. They have retained massive flexibility financially, while also placing veteran leadership around their youthful core to aid them in the process of adjusting to NBA competitiveness.

That willingness to spend money more freely while still possessing a well-calculated and frugal plan will help the team put the pieces they need around Simmons more so than they would have been able to do under Hinkie. Rather than static asset collection, the team is finally preparing to take a sizable leap in production, and have given the most primitively talent prospect in the draft an ideal scenario to play to his strengths and adjust to a league that would have otherwise been slightly more daunting.

Simmons doesn’t embody the modern NBA like a Jamal Murray or a Brandon Ingram, but the Sixers have began assembling a team that can. They’ve adjusting to a 6-10 point forward with a rough scoring touch from the outside by adding more spacing and emphasizing the team’s aptitude in running the offense through Simmons.

What really makes the Simmons pick so intelligent, however, is the fact that the Sixers will have the opportunity to attain talents that even exceed Murray and Ingram in next year’s draft. Markelle Fultz is an elite point guard option that exceeds Murray in a number of facets, while other perimeter options such as Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina, and Malik Monk all have the potential to outpace Kris Dunn at the next level. In terms of wing talent, Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum have already established themselves as upper echelon prospects at the three spot.

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The Sixers will get the Lakers’ pick next year if it does fall outside the top 3, something that seems increasingly likely with Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng joining the rotation alongside the second overall pick in Ingram. In addition, the likelihood of Philly once again falling in the lottery seems far higher than their likelihood of making the playoffs, especially in an Eastern Conference that has improved in a number of aspects.

Philadelphia could feasibly have the chance to draft yet another generational talent, if not two, to put alongside Simmons in what is bound to be an incredibly deep draft class. Markelle Fultz is a more promising player than D’Angelo Russell was coming into his collegiate career, and produces in a number of the same manners that could make him an idealisitic off-ball, on-ball compliment for Simmons on the outside. Monk, Smith, and Ntilikina are all elite options in their own right at the one spot.

Tatum would give the Sixers a smooth scorer on the wing who could work off of Simmons as a slasher while offering a go-to option that they still don’t wield for the time being. Jackson is an impressive athlete in almost every facet, a solid slasher in his own right, and a skilled playmaker at the three-spot who could give the Sixers a lot of versatility should they choose. Harry Giles is always going to be an option as well based on talent alone, even if he’s a power forward.

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The Sixers will have a chance to further boost their roster with the addition of, at the very least, one exceptional rookie talent that Colangelo will be able to select based purely off of fit with Simmons and the roster projections moving forwards. They will be adding more young talent that can fill voids neither Murray nor Ingram could have, while still taking a prospect that, all flaws taken into account, had the most raw upside of the group and a unique skill set that few, if any, can match in Simmons.

Their free agency appeal is only going to increase during the upcoming seasons, and their ability to mold their entire base of talent around a player like Simmons seems to make the pick more worthwhile than it may have seemed at first glance.

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He isn’t their best basketball fit year one, and he very well might not be year two. But he has all the tools to give them precisely what they necessitate as the rotation evolves and the talent grows and develops alongside it. This team is only going to get better under Bryan Colangelo, and Simmons more so than anybody else is capable of giving him somebody he can filter all of his moves through without over or under-compensating.