Given everything that has embroiled them this season, you would be hard-pressed to find another team with a clearly bleaker future than the Philadelphia 76ers. Not only is their current campaign a lost cause already, but their foreseeable future is not looking any better, either.
Such has been the story for a prideful franchise that has exercised every bit of impatience to construct its current deck. Sensing that the championship is within their grasp, the 76ers went all-in during the previous summer, extending Joel Embiid to a humongous deal and signing Paul George to a max contract in free agency.
Well, those signings quickly aged like milk. Embiid, for his part, has turned out to be a net negative asset, not because of his on-court play, but because of his nearly unfixable injury issues. Meanwhile, George has been far worse as his decline is so steep the 76ers are already looking at dealing with another Tobias Harris situation. It’s that bad.
The 76ers get an ugly slap to the face as James Harden and Ben Simmons collaborate
To make matters worse, the two stars that the 76ers jettisoned to get to where they currently are now find themselves in greener pastures. James Harden and Ben Simmons, Philly’s former franchise point guards and previously intertwined when they were traded for each other, have collaborated to make the 76ers look even more foolish.
Now with the Clippers, both players are turning in resurgent campaigns. Harden has led LA to sixth place in the brutal Western Conference, returning to All-Star form after relatively down seasons in the last couple of years.
Meanwhile, Simmons, who was bought out by the Nets, has been a hugely positive addition to the Clippers. He has become an easy fit for his new team thanks to his defensive acuity, size, and playmaking.
In comparison, the 76ers are still looking for someone who can set the table for them the way those two former cager of theirs did. At this juncture, the team remains without a natural playmaker to help clean up the mess that is Philadelphia’s offense.
This must be a huge slap to the face of Daryl Morey and everyone involved in decision-making for the 76ers. Philly made those changes with bold strokes and deft lines, yet the return has been ugly.
Inarguably, the Philadelphia 76ers must feel some degree of regret in they way they committed to their impatient practice. Now, it would take them being patient to get out of the hellhole they are situated in.