How Serious Is Philly About Contending?

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are about to enter their third playoffs together but have not yet reached the ECF.

Many people including myself have raised doubts about whether or the situation in Philadelphia can really contend. The 76ers led by All Stars, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, have produced great records in the regular season but have consistently fell short in the playoffs. Losing twice in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals during the Embiid-Simmons era, the 76ers have struggled a lot during the post-season.

This season especially, the 76ers have fell all the way to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Mind you this is the EASTERN CONFERENCE! Winning only 39 games before the NBA hiatus began, the Sixers look like they are in deep trouble going into Orlando. There has been speculation about whether or not the tandem of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons can work together. So far in their careers, they have shown flashes of dominance, but certainly not too much. Some people believe that it is time to break this up and trade Ben Simmons or Embiid. I too believe this and I believe the 76ers should trade Ben Simmons based on how things go in Orlando.

A hypothetical trade could be between Simmons and Beal who could seamlessly fit with their new teams.

If the 76ers disappoint again in Orlando, Ben Simmons has got to go. Ben Simmons is only 23 years old while Joel Embiid is already 26. This may not seem like a huge difference, however, when you see players like Bradley Beal (27) who are in the market, a trade could be orchestrated. A trade I had in mind was that the 76ers could give up Ben Simmons and Al Horford in exchange for Bradley Beal and John Wall. Obviously, this is just a shot in the dark, but something like this could occur with the Sixers.

Now many Sixers fans probably don’t want to see Simmons go but if I were the front office for the 76ers I would look deeply at all the offers. Championship windows close very fast so the Sixers should capitalize on whatever they are offered. On the other hand, if the 76ers do really well in Orlando and are able to make some sort of finals run, then all they would have to do is put more pieces around Simmons and Embiid.

Teams like the Hawks and Mavericks are looking to upgrade their rosters making it harder for the 76ers to trade Simmons in exchange for new talent.

If this doesn’t happen it may a tough road ahead. There are many other teams in the East who have been slowly upgrading their rosters so it could be hard to pull off good trades. Not many teams in the NBA right now are selling, instead, many are looking to make the playoff push or elevate themselves to championship contenders. If the Sixers really want to get rid of Simmons for some helpful pieces, they must act now or else it might be too late.

In the end though we will just have to see what happens in Orlando. This current playoff race will shape many futures, and many teams will have to make some tough decisions once the NBA finals are over.