Vexing data shows the Philadelphia 76ers dodged a bullet for the ages

Poised to win now and win big, the Philadelphia 76ers do not have the luxury of time nor the impulse of desperation to pout over the things they did wrong in the not-so-distant past. Few teams are better equipped than them to retain staying power in the upper echelon of the league for the next five years.

Having said that, it would be disingenuous to not acknowledge the fact that the 76ers have also benefited from the swing of fate. As kismet would have it, they also benefited from the turnstile of ugly segments into positive outcomes.

Vexing data has 76ers dodging a bullet for the ages

Case in point? Just look at this data.

In a list littered with one worthy name and a slew of injury-riddled players, Ben Simmons topped the list, albeit expectedly. The former 76ers star, now barely having any value to his name, has played a grand total of 57 games in the last three seasons, earning approximately $106 million during that span.

The maladied star, who has also been unplayable for the most part in the rare occasions that he’s playing, is not really expected to command a lot of suitors beyond the upcoming season, when he will be an unrestricted free agent.

Fans in Philly may still hold some grudges about the way he ducked for an entire year following some much-deserved criticism, but to be fair, he facilitated some good karma coming to the franchise’s way. He was traded for James Harden, and despite the latter’s unceremonious exit from the team, he turned out to be the grand enabler of the front office’s lavish spending this offseason.

Nevertheless, this shows that the Philadelphia 76ers did manage to dodge a bullet for the ages. Had they remained timid during the time when Ben Simmons held out for a year, they could have still been clinging onto vain hope at this juncture, stuck in an ugly culmination of The Process.