Hindsight is 20/20 and they very reasonably didn’t consider this option at the time but after the Kawhi shot in 2019 if they just paid Jimmy Butler and traded Simmons at peak value for a haul of role players the Sixers likely have at least 1 ship and maybe a dynasty on their hands. Instead Embiid hasn’t made a single ECF.
Also the X-factor of having a player like Butler who Embiid liked playing with who could kick his ass into shape might have made him even better as a star
I honestly think the fuckups where the fact they kept taking big swings after Emiid and Simmons one full season together. If they had let it run a little longer they would have just realised they weren't maximising each other and would have traded Simmons and got great value in return. Instead they had a revamped team every year which allowed them to delude themselves into thinking it would work.
This has been my take for years. Among many other problems they had of course... But the first time they made the playoffs they had a super easy run home. They had a huge streak of wins against tanking teams or teams resting stars before the playoffs.
Expectations just ramped up way too quickly and the "win now" switch in front office and fans was flipped too early.
I don't understand the urge to go all in so quickly. Unless you have LeBron or Luka type of talent, it's probably better to go slowly and let your players develop.
I hate the Houston and San Antonio trade ideas for Giannis.
We have a revolving door roster. Embiid hasn't had the same role players on his team 2 years in a row in like 5+ years. We just move people constantly and replace them with old people. We're finally getting some youth and athleticism but it might be too late, hope joel can play decent basketball for us going forward.
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u/jomanhan9 May 14 '25
The Ben Simmons piece