Philadelphia 76ers All-Star point guard Ben Simmons is going to have a long offseason. After his performance in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, he has become a major topic of discussion among NBA circles.

Simmons drew a lot of criticism for his performance in the postseason, as the video and photos of him passing up a dunk with Trae Young flying ball is the lasting image everyone has. Simmons lost all confidence in himself offensively, as he struggled mightily from the foul line.

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The former LSU product has a lot of work to put in this offseason. Reworking his jump shot will take time, but just getting his confidence back so that he is not passing up wide-open dunks late in games is paramount.

Trading him away is something many people have discussed. But, selling low on a player that was involved in trade talks for James Harden last season is not a good way to do business.

It is unlikely Philadelphia would receive a package with a player anywhere near the level of Harden, but there are still some executives around the league that are high on Simmons.

According to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, multiple executives compared a part of Simmons’ game to LeBron James.

“He’ll be 25 on July 20,” wrote Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. “He has been in the NBA for four seasons. As two NBA executives told me, ‘He has freakish athletic ability, almost like LeBron James in that area.’”

That is some high praise, as LeBron James has proven to be one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA. Even during his age-36 season, James still shows off some of that freakish athleticism.

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As long as Ben Simmons has that freakish athleticism, he has a chance to succeed as you cannot teach that. Now, he just has to channel it in a way that helps his team win more consistently when it matters in the postseason.