By avoiding any major trades or signings, the Philadelphia 76ers prove they want to win with their own young core — but are they good enough?
LeBron James eschewed opportunities to grow his ring collection, cement his legacy, and perhaps overtake His Airness himself to satisfy his family, start his production company, and perhaps begin an early retirement.
Kawhi Leonard’s hive-mind of his uncle’s friends decided that the two-way superstar would be playing in Los Angeles next season, and agreed that Kawhi wouldn’t set foot on the court for another team.
Paul George won a victory for small market teams everywhere by proving that loyalty still exists in the NBA. He passed on the chance to head home to Los Angeles and chase titles with LeBron, instead deciding to remain with his friend and former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. (In unrelated news, DeMarcus Cousins signed with the Warriors for the mid-level exception.)
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All three of these stellar small forwards had the chance to come team up with the East’s up-and-comers, help bear the fruit of the Process, and have their name live in Philadelphia 76ers sports history. All three declined.
Now, the Philadelphia 76ers are stuck with no one. Well, if “no one” includes Hakeem Olajuwon 2.0 (now with a working three!), the best Australian point guard in the NBA (sorry, Kyrie), and a soon-to-be-sharpshooting, freakishly athletic shooting guard for when the other two All-Stars have off nights.
But in today’s NBA, where loyalty is a thing of the past and superteams are in vogue, will the Sixers’ young core be enough? If not, what do these three young studs need to improve to compete with the upper echelon of NBA superteams.
Joel Embiid
Embiid is an enigma of a player. Sometimes, when the mid-range jumper is falling and the ball is moving, Embiid is unstoppable. But sometimes, Embiid turns into a Dwight Howard-esque black hole offensively — ball goes in, turnovers come out. JoJo’s dirty secret is that he’s not an extremely dominant offensive player.
Of course, part of this is because Embiid is the last true post-up center. Only 30 percent of Embiid’s buckets were assisted this season. Compare this to Capela’s 90 percent, KAT’s 60 percent, and even the post up wizard himself: Anthony Davis‘s 45 percent. But the fact remains that Embiid might look like Hakeem sometimes, but he can play like more of a LaMarcus Aldridge.
No, Embiid’s value lies defensively. The most impressive thing about Embiid’s defense isn’t his ridiculous blocks/attempts defended ratio (second in the league) or his on-off defensive ratings with the rest of the roster. The thing that makes Joel stand above Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant and other Defensive Player of the Year pretenders is his deterrence effect.
Only two players in the NBA deter more than five shots at the rim per 100 possessions: Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid. If Embiid can figure out consistent offense, he’ll be a menace on both sides of the ball.
Improvements Needed:
- Offensive consistency
- Post efficiency
- Stamina
- Defending the perimeter (at least against Aron Baynes)
Ben Simmons
Imagine traveling back in time to 2013 and telling the first Philly sports fan you see that the Sixers will have an All-Star Game starter in 2018, and he won’t even be the player with the most potential on the roster. That would be the second-craziest thing to happen to Philly sports since then (thanks, Howie!)
No, the award for “Most Potential” goes to one Ben Simmons, thank you very much. Hyper-athletic speedsters who can blow by guards and dunk on forwards are rare: see Dwyane Wade. Massive rim protectors who dominate on both ends of the floor are rarer still: see David Robinson. But a player taller than Draymond Green who handles like Kyrie Irving — well, that’s never been seen before.
Right now, you could say that Ben Simmons is the best 6-foot-10 ball handler in NBA history. Or that he’s the best 6-foot-10 passer in NBA history. And you’d be right. (Before you ask, Magic wasn’t 6-foot-10.) If Simmons averaged his 15/8/8 statline from his ROTY campaign for a full career, he’d be a Hall of Famer.
But that Hall of Fame statline isn’t going to cut it for the Aussie wonder, and he knows it. Right now, there is only one flaw in Ben Simmons’ game, as I’m sure everyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows. His shot. Or, rather, a lack of it.
It’s not just that Simmons can’t shoot — it’s that he won’t. Ben doesn’t even pull the trigger on open looks from more than 12 feet away from the hoop. His finishing, passing, defending, dribbling, is all elite already. But without a shot, Simmons will be exposed by defensive gameplans in the playoffs. See: the Celtics series.
But if Ben develops a jumper, it’s game over.
Improvements Needed:
- Ability to shoot from more than twelve feet out
- Ability to shoot off the dribble
- Ability to shoot free throws
- Ability to shoot threes (please, God.)
Markelle Fultz
Of all three Sixers superstars, Markelle Fultz was the most sure thing coming into the season. Fans thought Embiid might never be healthy enough to touch the court. Fans thought Ben Simmons’ passing wouldn’t translate and he’d be reduced to a shorter version of Joakim Noah. Markelle was supposed to be a traditional star guard.
He has been anything but.
The recounting of the Markelle Fultz story has become a bit of a folk tale over the last few months. No one — except Eric Jr. — knows what really happened, if Fultz hurt his shoulder, if Fultz had the yips, if the team sat a healthy Fultz…
But at this point, I’m not sure if anyone should care. Sure, it was quite the rocky start to Markelle’s career. But all indications from Fultz’s teammates, from trainer Drew Hanlen, from Fultz himself are that Fultz will be taking his revenge tour around the NBA next season at full strength.
Markelle showed flashes in the few games he played for the Sixers, even setting the record for the youngest player to ever get a triple-double. He did it all without a jumper. When — not if — Fultz figures out how to shoot, the possibilities become endless.
At worst, Markelle is Kemba Walker. At best, he’s some blend of James Harden and Dwyane Wade. A Fultz closer to the latter scenario is the one Philadelphia is going to need to become king in the East.
Improvements Needed:
- Three-point shooting range
- Some more muscle
- Consistent defensive attentiveness
- Confidence
Philadelphia 76ers going all-in
In all honesty, this Philadelphia young core may not be good enough. It might not be able to take down the Raptors. Or the Bucks. Or the dreaded Celtics. But Sam Hinkie didn’t give his life (or job) to watch this young talent fail to reach its potential.
And if Markelle Fultz turns into a Dwyane Wade/James Harden-combo combo guard, and Ben Simmons learns to shoot and becomes a taller Magic Johnson, and Embiid gets some more experience and becomes less of a Hakeem knockoff and more of an improved Hakeem clone, or maybe even all three, Philly is set.
Set not just to breeze through the East and defeat the Celtics en route to the NBA title. But set also to go toe-to-toe with the West’s superteams. And set to bring home something Philly hasn’t seen since 1983. And that championship can’t be won by LeBron, or Paul George, or Kawhi: it’s got to be for real.
Next: 3 reasons the Sixers won the 2018 offseason
While the rest of the NBA Frankensteins together superteams, the Philadelphia 76ers have earned the right to sit back and watch the seeds of their dynasty slowly sprout. And in years, when the Warriors have disbanded, the Lakers and Rockets have broken up, the Celtics have had another promising young star die, that seedling of a dynasty will begin to bud.