Sixers: How team can replace Ben Simmons’ defensive impact

On Aug. 8, 1974, as the walls of the Watergate scandal closed in around him, then-President Richard Nixon announced that he would become the first chief executive in nearly 200 years to resign during his term. The next day, Nixon’s VP Gerald Ford was sworn in as President, and he attempted to reassure the nation that better days lay ahead.

“Our long national nightmare is over,” Ford remarked.

When the Ben Simmons staring contest finally reaches its inevitable conclusion, it would behoove Sixers general manager Daryl Morey to address the media with a similar speech. The Simmons drama has dominated the offseason and thrown into chaos an organization less than five months removed from locking in the 1-seed in the East ahead of both the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks and the juggernaut Brooklyn Nets.

After the front office grants Simmons’ wish to leave Philadelphia by any means necessary — which seems like a foregone conclusion — the roster left in Simmons’ wake will have some soul-searching to do to replace his contributions to the team. And no aspect of Simmons’ game will be more irreplaceable than his defensive prowess.

Ben Simmons is one of the NBA’s best defenders. How can the Sixers replace him?

For all his flaws, Ben Simmons is a legitimately monstrous defender. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season (honestly, he could’ve finished first) and helped the Sixers earn the second-lowest defensive rating in the league while finishing first in steals and second in blocks.

However, Philadelphia also isn’t without defensive talent beyond Simmons — in Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle, the team has two All-Defense-level players waiting in the wings. For the Sixers to replicate Simmons’ defensive impact, both players will have to take a step forward defensively.