FanPost

Ben Simmons Position & How it Influences the 76ers Offseason Needs

This offseason has the potential to take the Sixers to the playoffs. If all goes well, the Sixers can add talent and fill their biggest needs with lots of cap space, 5 draft picks, and plenty of trade assets. So, let’s look at the Sixers four biggest needs: a scoring wing who can shoot from 3, a starting-caliber combo guard who can compliment Simmons OR a solid backup power forward behind Saric, and an emergency big man in case of a catastrophic front court injury. In this article, I’ll look into the four needs, the players who can fix them, and why they don’t all need to be addressed. In addition, I look into Ben Simmons exact role on the team and why it hinges on our free agency period.


Before I start, I have to note the Sixers use of cap space. The argument I hear thrown around is that with Embiid, Covington, and Simmons expecting big paydays, it isn’t wise to throw around money when the Sixers aren’t contending. I disagree. If you do the math, you can give Embiid $25M and Covington $15M a year after next season and still be around $75M in total cap space. Waive Gerald Henderson and let go of Shawn Long, and you’re looking at roughly $40M on the books for the 17-18 season. Simmons payday won’t come around for another 3 years, so giving a guy like KCP 3 years and 60 million makes perfect sense. Frontloading a free agent’s contract is even smarter. We can max out Embiid, keep Covington, and still have the money to sign a high-level free agent under next year’s cap. I would not sign anyone for more than 3 years because TLC, Simmons, and Saric will hopefully be worth a good amount of money, but for the present we have lots of money to work with. Next year, we will have over 50 million dollars to work with, so we should certainly be using it creatively. PS: With all that being said, I still don’t want Kyle Lowry.



Let’s start with the scoring wing the Sixers need. The Sixers were 25th in the league in offense, but luckily there are a lot of solutions out there.


Scoring Wing: KCP, CJ Miles, Ben McLemore, JJ Redick, CJ McCollum, Gary Harris Josh Jackson, Donovan Mitchell, Malik Monk


The current wing starters are Covington and … Henderson? Bayless? TLC? I think the Sixers have a long-term solution in TLC, but he is not ready for a starting roll yet and he is not the shooter that the Sixers need right now. Henderson has served his purpose and Bayless is a specialist who fits, so a starting, 3PT shooting wing is needed. Right now, the wing scorer for the Sixers is TLC, but the sophomore wing could use a few more years to develop. I hope that Gerald Henderson gets waived, because that roster spot would go to a young player, or at least a more useful one. If he is waived before the end of June, we only owe him $1M. We could use a lethal shooter like CJ McCollum or Gary Harris, because they would both compliment Simmons passing ability really well and mask his deficiencies also. A young 3 and D guy like KCP or Ben McLemore would help the team immediately, and the Sixers can certainly afford it. If we traded down into the late lottery, we could target Donovan Mitchell. If we trade down with Sacramento or Orlando, Malik Monk would be more realistic. If we stay put, we could take Jackson for his upside and attempt to rework his shot. He can still score without shooting, but he needs to fix that aspect of his game in the near future. No matter how we do it, the Sixers have to find a way to upgrade this position. If it was up to me, I would try to trade for Gary Harris or sign JJ Redick in free agency for 3 years.



The Sixers next need is a combo guard who can start with Ben Simmons next year.


Starting Combo Guard: Patty Mills, Jrue Holiday, Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, Tyler Johnson, Zach LaVine, Cory Joseph, DSJ, Frank Ntilikina


This kind of overlaps with the first need, but the difference is that a combo guard would be the de-facto PG in our offense next to Simmons, while the wing we need would need to be a knockdown shooter and a lockdown defender. Simmons role will hopefully be to run the offense with his amazing passing abilities, but he will need someone to guard opposing point guards and cover up his bad shooting. Think about how Draymond Green compliments Steph Curry, or how LeBron James compliments Kyrie Irving. We could have our own version of that with Jrue Holiday or Patty Mills. Simmons won’t necessarily be the point guard, but he will run the offense to an extent. If you have a lineup with Jrue Holiday, Malik Monk, Robert Covington, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid, it doesn’t matter what anyone’s position is, Simmons role will remain the same. His skill set says PG, but his height and rebounding says PF. So, although Simmons runs the offense, he will basically be a power forward. I think the Sixers offense and defense head to the more modern positionless basketball we keep hearing about, and the versatility of our players really begins to get utilized in the right way. We need a combo guard who can play off-ball but is also a capable ball handler. Someone who can guard opposing point guards and help Ben Simmons adjust to his role. Frank Ntilikina fills this need really well, but he is a reach at 3. Dennis Smith Jr. is a true PG, but he is ball dominant and also a reach. We could try to trade Okafor and second rounders for D’Angelo Russell or Cory Joseph, who are solid combo guards themselves. Personally, I think that our cap space should go to Jrue Holiday or Patty Mills this year, because they fit the aforementioned job perfectly next to Simmons.



On the roster at PF behind Dario Saric is Shawn Long, so the Sixers need a player to spell him off the bench.


Backup PF: Patrick Patterson, Danillo Gallinari, JaMychal Green, Jonathan Isaac, Kristaps Porzingis , John Leur, Juan Hernangomez


Like I said earlier, Simmons should start as our power forward this year even if he runs the offense. This hinges on our offseason, however, because if we don’t go out and get any guards in the offseason, you are probably looking at Simmons as more of a point guard and less as a forward. If we go out and sign Jrue Holiday, Simmons will start at PF, but if we don’t touch the PG position, then Simmons will be playing as the point guard that Brett Brown had made him out to be. If we choose to not to spend on guards this offseason, I think the money will go to a player like Patrick Patterson or Danillo Gallinari. These players have been in the league for a while, but can space the floor exceedingly well and could replace Saric as the starter. We will spend our money this offseason on a combo guard or a power forward, but not both. Whichever need we address, Ben Simmons will fill the other need. I predict that Simmons will start at power forward with Dario Saric backing him up, and in that case Shawn Long is probably fine as our 3rd string player. In that case, power forward is not a need. But if we commit to Saric, Covington, Simmons, Embiid, and a TBD guard as our starting lineup, we need someone better than Long to back up Saric: a mediocre starter at best to begin with. Gallinari is worth overpaying for, but he has a history of injury and we would need an emergency big man in case he or Embiid (two players who have an extensive injury history) get hurt. We could try to trade for Kristaps Porzingis, but the package to get him would have to include Okafor and the 3 pick. If we choose to start Saric, we could look to a backup like Juan Hernangomez of the Nuggets, or take John Leur’s salary for a prospect or a pick. Isaac is adored on LB, but he will certainly be a reach at 3 and take some time to develop. So overall, Ben Simmons role will be to help run the offense as a point guard but to also rebound and defend like a power forward, so the players the Sixers surround him with will determine which role he embraces more.



Assuming the Sixers deal Okafor for a player or a pick, the Sixers need a player who can step in in case Joel Embiid gets injured.


Emergency Big Man: Thomas Robinson, Ivan Rabb, Jordan Bell, Ed Davis, Kyle O’Quinn


31 out of 246. The Sixers need insurance. Joel Embiid had not played very many games in his career, and so we need a competent backup who can start in emergencies and play significant time during his inevitable minutes restrictions. This assumes we let go of Jahlil Okafor because he doesn’t fit in the NBA, much less on the Sixers. "BUT HE WAS A HS ALL AMERICAN!" Well, it’s high school. "HE WAS DRAFTED AT 3!" Anthony Bennett was drafted 1, Derrick Williams at 2, Mario Hezonja at 5, and so on and so forth. I looked at scouting reports for Okafor, and it amazes me that we didn’t see this coming. His big thing was his offensive post game, but he was subpar in rebounding, subpar in defense, subpar in ball handling, subpar in rim protection, subpar in his midrange shot, subpar motor, subpar in everything but his marvelous post game. "HE DOMINATED KAT HEAD TO HEAD!" That’s one game. "HE AVERAGED 17 & 7!" Yeah, on a roster where Ish Smith, Jerami Grant, Hollis Thompson, and Isaiah Canaan averaged over 25 minutes a game. Jahlil Okafor is not a good player, he doesn’t have a high ceiling, he doesn’t have value, and he would be best as instant offense off the bench, like the Warriors use JaVale McGee. So, we should address the center position by trading Okafor and a) sign a cheap vet like Thomas Robinson, b) take on the contract of a role player like Ed Davis, Kyle O’Quinn, or Boban Marjonovic or c) draft a player like Jordan Bell or Ivan Rabb in the early second or move up to the late first. This isn’t a desperate need, but the Sixers should be looking to get bad contracts anyways, at least for next year. Ed Davis and a second rounder for a highly protected second rounder would be a win-win. With how injury prone Joel Embiid has proven to be, we need more than Holmes behind him, and there are a lot of effective and easy solutions to fix this minor problem before it becomes a major problem.



In conclusion, the Sixers have the cap space to sign a major free agent for 3 years, trade for a role player with Okafor and plenty of future picks, and draft an impact player at #3. This offseason decides where Simmons will play for the next 3 years, as he is capable as a ball-handling play maker guard or as a nearly 7 foot forward. Whoever we spend money on this offseason will help determine which role he gravitates towards. We have all sorts of ways to address our needs, and if all goes well, the playoffs are not unrealistic.


How to address:


Trade for a good big man. This could include John Leur, Kyle O’Quinn, Ed Davis, Juan Hernangomez or Kristaps Porzingis.


Trade down from #3 to #6 for the #25 pick. Draft Malik Monk and Ivan Rabb.


Sign Jrue Holiday to a 3 year deal. This would use our cap space for a major need, but still have enough room for future deals and Embiid’s max. He comes off the books before Simmon’s (hopefully) max.


Sign Thomas Robinson for a cheap deal. He would act as our emergency big man.


Waive Gerald Henderson for the roster spot, or package him with Okafor to make salaries match.


Sign Alex Poythress and our first second round pick to the new D-League 2 way contracts.



A user-created LB joint. The Liberty Ballers staff does not contribute to FanPosts.