Do Philadelphia 76ers know Ben Simmons’ value?

The Philadelphia 76ers have a franchise changing talent with Ben Simmons at point guard. But if they truly intend to move him, do they even understand just how good he is?

The Philadelphia 76ers created an NBA revolution. And now, in the eye of the NBA hurricane they created, they appear to be having second doubts?  The revolution is simple. They placed a 6-foot-10 Ben Simmons at the point guard position. In his rookie season, Simmons exceeded all expectations. An historic moment in NBA history for sure. There are plenty of examples of historic moments where expectations were missed by a mile.

Rather than dump the results, the greatest minds stopped, paused, and tried to understand what happened instead. Right now, the Philadelphia 76es are at that historic moment. Let’s hope that they too stop, pause, and try to understand what just happened.  Yes, it’s understandable that the powers that be cannot quite grasp the upside of Ben Simmons. He’s broken records, and set the bar so incredibly high for the team in the point guard role.  But he’s not the typical point guard, and basketball minds appear to be challenged by thinking outside-the-box.

Simmons aiming at elite status

Ben Simmons has electrified the NBA at point guard. Truly electrified. He has broken Magic Johnson‘s rookie record of Triple Doubles. And he has helped lead the Philadelphia 76ers from a 28 win season to a 38 win plus 14 to go season which will very likely find the team in the NBA playoffs. Huge strides forward. And some of that is thanks to the play of center Joel Embiid. But much of it is thanks to the play of 2016 top-pick Ben Simmons.

What expectations did the team set for Simmons to succeed at the one?  It could not possibly have been to break Magic Johnson’s rookie record for triple-doubles. But Simmons has done that. It could not possibly have been to be the team’s third-leading scorer without a perimeter shot, but he’s done that too. There is no way the team could expect Simmons to be one of the better defensive players on this team. But there he is again. And no how, no way could the team have set the bar on assists to be the most since Jrue Holiday of the 2012-2013 Philadelphia 76ers, but he’s done that too.

But what about Ben?

So the Philadelphia 76ers have two top number one picks.  Ben Simmons played all season. Markelle Fultz sat on the bench almost the entire season. Simmons was always projected as the primary ball handler. Fultz’s value to this team was his ability to play off-ball.

Somehow, the team has reversed their estimation that Markelle Fultz can play without the ball. And with Fultz doing everything but stepping onto the basketball court on game day, The team is trying to traffic cop playing time at point guard. In the end, they now project Simmons as an either or point guard, after delivering a rookie season for the history books. Why question which position Simmons should play now?

Any effort to place Markelle Fultz at the one role comes at Ben Simmons’ expense. Without even seeing Fultz on the basketball court, why go there?  To fans, any decision making process suggesting Simmons to the four has to be challenged vehemently. The old adage applies here -“DON’T FIX WHAT ISN’T BROKEN!“.

Causing controversy

This debate all began when head coach Brett Brown suggested that Ben Simmons is either a power forward or a point guard. And you have to wonder who is pulling the lever on this one? It was Brown who talked about the point guard role for Simmons on the Sixers roster, and Bryan Colangelo remaining firm on calling Simmons a power forward.

Now that power forward stuff is resurfacing, at the worst possible moment.

Brown gaffe

I am a strong supporter of head coach Brett Brown. He has mastered keeping this team competitive when most head coaches would have resigned.  When the team descended to the nadir of the rebuild, Brown’s positive outlook kept the players competitive. And that same Coach Brown began the talk of Ben Simmons to the point guard role. All the while, Bryan Colangelo had a differing narrative:

Did Brown now change his mind, or did Colangelo change it for him? Whosever bright idea it was to distract the point guard of the team on their first playoff push has no common sense whatsoever. It’s a huge mistake to insert that type of distraction upon any starter this late in the season.

Rifts, really?

An even bigger mistake, in my estimation, is causing a rift between players who have yet to build any on-court chemistry. This is the same wishy-washy strategy which generated so much ill-temperament with the logjam at the center position. Pitting top players against one another for a single role on the team has terrible repercussions. Just look back at the track record of how rapidly the play of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor regressed when they understood that they were on the trading block.

So is part of the problem with the team’s handling of Markelle Fultz somehow linked to the latest news of trying to get him time at the point guard?  After all, wasn’t the entire concept of Markelle Fultz’s fit on the Philadelphia 76ers the fact that Fultz was as gifted off-ball as on-ball? In short, Fultz gives the team dynamic back court duo with Simmons, but gives the team a shot-maker as well. In fact, should Fultz prove as accurate as Redick from the perimeter, it’s that very shot making ability which gives him the nod at the two.

Stop with the point forward

The argument before Ben Simmons arrived to the NBA was that he could no way defend a guard. The narrative swore again and again that Ben Simmons would play a point forward role, and that when a starting lineup formed around him, the team would place two guards and two bigs out there with him. Only the team didn’t.

When Simmons is on the court, he starts the game with Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Robert Covington and J.J. Redick. Of that group, only Redick is a guard. The other guard? Simmons. And that’s the way it is, and the way it’s been all season long.

Timing is everything

If there is a debate to discuss, do it in the off-season. Planning on changing the lineup? Off-season as well. There is no matter so great as to introduce it now. The Philadelphia 76ers are not only fighting for a playoff spot, but can achieve a three or four seed if they remain focused and play to their capabilities.  Opening a debate for Ben Simmons playing the four now makes as much sense as debating Joel Embiid to the four. Or Dario Saric to the two.  Why now?

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The Philadelphia 76ers are young, developing, and a far cry from perfect. We all know the team has too many turnovers, too many personal fouls, and is far too inconsistent to threaten for an NBA championship. But the team has already won as many games as the two previous seasons combined. That is with a rookie point guard.  And it includes practically no contribution of the top-pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.  Let’s put this season in the rear view mirror before screwing with the stars who got the team here, please?