Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons won’t be an All-Star this season

There’s no denying that the offseason drama between the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons has worn on the NBA community as a whole. In fact, it’s a fair argument to make that the drama will severally hinder if not straight up make it impossible for Simmons to make the All-Star game this season.

To be clear, if Simmons comes into this season and plays out of his mind, then of course he has a legit shot for an All-Star vote. However, that’s very unlikely, regardless of how long a trade takes to mature, Simmon’s All-Star chances are slim to none at this point.

Philadelphia 76ers’ point guard Simmons’ won’t be an All-Star this season.

For sake of argument, let’s work under the assumption that Simmons averages around his career stats this season. His career stats are 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.7 steals. While those stats are impressive, they don’t lock him in for an All-Star nod.

Simmons has never won a fan vote and don’t expect Sixers fans to vote for him this year. That means that he will have to rely on the coaches voting for him. Now it’s hard to imagine many coaches not voting for him purely because of this offseason drama, but it could influence their decision.

The Eastern Conference has a lot of up-and-coming point guards in the East. LaMelo Ball, Lonzo Ball, Malcolm Brogdon, and Fred VanVleet come to mind as guards who haven’t gotten an All-Star game yet. However, there are plenty of veteran guards who could push for a spot after missing it last season Jrue Holiday, Kyle Lowry, Trae Young, and Kemba Walker are just a few.

That’s not to mention last year’s All-Star guards in the East. James Harden, Zach LaVine, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, and Jaylen Brown. There’s a good chance all of them return as All-Stars as well. The Western Conference is even more loaded so if Simmons get’s traded to a team there, it seems like a tall wall for Simmons to overcome either way.

There’s a lot of worthy guards in the East. If the decision came down to Simmons and one of these other point guards, there’s a chance that this drama pushes the coaches to choose another guard instead.

The drama between Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers has probably lost Simmons an All-Star appearance this season and the depth at guard in the East doesn’t help him either.