John Wall does not fit with the Sixers
The biggest reason for the Sixers’ fallout with Simmons, and the inevitable trade that has yet to come, is the poor on-court fit with Joel Embiid. Simmons doesn’t shoot and has collapsed in multiple playoff series on the offensive end. Given Embiid’s heliocentric nature and his desire to dominate the middle of the floor, the Simmons dynamic has just never quite clicked.
Let me be the first to tell you: the John Wall dynamic will not “click” either. Wall does shoot 3s. That much is true. In fact, he averaged 6.2 per game last season, which would have been the second-highest mark on the Sixers, behind only Danny Green (6.3 per game). Credit to him for being willing to shoot.
Unfortunately, Wall is not a particularly good shooter. He spent last season at 31.7 percent from deep, and is only at 32.3 percent for his career. Wall’s perimeter scoring has always been marred by inefficiency, but it was heightened last season on a roster where Wall had very little help.
Wall will have more help in Philadelphia, but he’s still a ball-dominant creator who does not space the floor. Defenders will happily cheat off of Wall to crowd Embiid, so you’re not solving that issue. And, while Wall will rack up the assists, he is ball dominant. Simmons was more than happy to let Embiid control the halfcourt offense and spread the love to teammates. Wall does a lot of dribbling and takes a lot of questionable shots. That’s not the kind of playmaker you want next to Embiid.
That’s all without mentioning defense, where Wall was genuinely awful last season. Granted, it was Houston and motivation was no doubt hard to come by, but Wall is not the same athlete he was pre-injury. He’s still explosive, and he can clock in on-ball when he wants to, but the Sixers cannot expect a positive-impact defender on a regular basis. Ben Simmons is arguably the best perimeter defender in basketball.
Running out a backcourt of Wall, Green, and Seth Curry would leave the Sixers extremely vulnerable. Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, and Furkan Korkmaz aren’t exactly saving the day either. You could argue for an expanded Matisse Thybulle role, but then you’re starting two below-average shooters — one of whom practically can’t dribble.
It gets sticky pretty fast.
Wall shot 40.1 percent from the field last season. Even if that number increases a few ticks in a winning situation, he’s just not the kind of distributor you want in an Embiid-led offense. Wall is best in a Wall-led offense, and the Sixers will not run the show through John Wall.