Philadelphia 76ers fans are all too familiar with just how disastrous having Ben Simmons on the roster could get, but thankfully they are no longer anywhere close to reeling from the effects of the former All-Star’s fall from grace, with another team seemingly closing in on assuming that robe and making a fool of themselves.
Despite the clear red flags coming from the former 76ers star, Simmons has remained one of the more popular free agents at this late juncture. Several clubs have already been linked with him, but the Knicks are probably the biggest bidder for him at the moment given the amount of noise surrounding that potential partnership.
New York, having already snatched Guerschon Yabusele away from Philly, seems to have a hankering for 76ers big men. They are still heavily intrigued by the thought of having Simmons as part of their bench unit, raising a lot of eyebrows around the league given how difficult he would be to integrate into their lineup configurations.
And for that reason, 76ers fans cannot help but giggle at one of their biggest rivals.
76ers rival on the verge of pulling off a complete disaster
People have already warned the Knicks about the lack of wisdow behind the thought piece of bringing Simmons to the Big Apple, especially how their roster is currently constructed. The Athletic’s James Edwards III sums it up nicely:
"Simmons’ inability to shoot — or even look at the basket — makes it so that Brown couldn’t successfully play him with non-shooters like Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson. Giving significant minutes to a guard or wing who isn’t willingly looking to score isn’t something I’d sign up for."
Mike Brown, who is now their head coach after replacing Tom Thibodeau, will most definitely implement a more dynamic and less static offensive design, and incorporating Simmons into lineups would put a governor on how much latitude the coaching staff can have when it comes to constructing five-man lineups.
As 76ers fans know fully well, Simmons is someone who is most — if not only — effective when he has the ball in his hands, looking to create for others and attacking mismatches with his sheer size and athleticism. The latter one, which is his main calling card physique-wise, has become lost, and his subsisting dearth of shooting will make him a liability on that end given his complete lack of off-ball utility.
Of course, the Philadelphia 76ers have no say on what the New York Knicks will decide, but if the latter wants a shot at self-implosion, then they should definitely sign Ben Simmons. After all, he makes perfect sense for them from a purely basketball standpoint, especially on offense, doesn’t he?