The Sixer Sense
Fansided

The Philadelphia 76ers Have 3 Versions Of Carson Wentz

Jan 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices before a game against the Golden State Warriors at Wells Fargo Center. The Golden State Warriors won 108-105. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices before a game against the Golden State Warriors at Wells Fargo Center. The Golden State Warriors won 108-105. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
2 of 4

Simmons Playing Behind Two Veterans

In nearly an identical fashion, the Philadelphia 76ers have brought Ben Simmons onto the team with the intention of playing him at the point guard eventually. However, the team already had a one year point guard on the roster in T.J. McConnell, and had gone out and added Real Madrid’s veteran point guard in Sergio Rodriguez.

You might even consider McConnell to be a roster casualty of the 15 man roster reduction, in which case you could slide Jerryd Bayless into the point guard role.

In each scenario, the team has insulated the rookie from automatically earning the keys to the franchise publicly.  But much like Wentz, expect to see the transition to Simmons happen rapidly, if not opening night. It’s about natural development, in stark contrast to assumed anointing, which propels rookie stars into their role:

Verbage like this was used frequently by Eagles head coach Doug Pederson when discussing the role of Carson Wentz. But where the Eagles have one rookie sensation, the Philadelphia 76ers have three such debuting rookies.