With the Philadelphia 76ers fighting for their playoff lives, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are going to have to carry the load if they want to keep their season alive.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, Simmons entered Game 6 with the same flaws he had in all the games before it. The guy can’t shoot, and it’s gotten so bad that the Hawks have employed a hack-a-Simmons strategy to give themselves an advantage in the series.
It worked wonders in Game 5, where Ben missed 10 free throws to finish with just 8 points on the night.
And now, whether or not the Sixers survive this series, his trade value has completely tanked, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
“I have news for Philly fans, the GMs of the other teams watch the playoffs very very closely. And there are definitely teams that I have talked to in the last 48 hours who were once in on Simmons, who say, at lease to me, it could be posturing, ‘eh, we’re a little less in than we used to be.
I know Sixers fans will be disappointed because even a week ago they were talking about Lillard and now we’re talking about McCollum but I think you have to to consider it.”
It is becoming abundantly clear that the Embiid/Simmons duo might not be capable of winning a title. Amid major questions and doubts about the team’s potential, trading Simmons might be the best way for them to start fresh and re-tool around Joel Embiid.
What they’ll get for Simmons at this point, however, remains to be seen.
