This was supposed to be the Philadelphia 76ers’ year given that Joel Embiid was playing like a true NBA MVP candidate, Tobias Harris was putting up borderline All-Star numbers and Philly had arguably their best supporting cast ever, but things didn’t turn out the way they had imagined.
The 76ers earned the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference for the first-time since the 2000-01 season and while they advanced past the Washington Wizards in five games, they really struggled with the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Philadelphia posted the second-best home record in the league this year at 29-7, but the Hawks proved to be true “road warriors” and three of their four wins in this series came on the road in Wells Fargo Center.
Atlanta won this series over the 76ers in seven games, only to lose to the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, the Sixers find themselves in the midst of plenty of offseason NBA trade rumors and for all of the wrong reasons. There are no question marks surrounding Joel Embiid or Tobias Harris moving forward, but Ben Simmons’ future in Philadelphia is very cloudy at the moment.
The “City of Brotherly Love” has not been showing too much love to their 7-foot All-NBA performer as of late, as Ben Simmons has found himself as the main scapegoat for 76ers’ fans to blame. While he definitely should not carry all of this burden, Simmons definitely underperformed against the Atlanta Hawks and as a result, 76ers’ fans may not want him back.
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In the playoffs, Ben Simmons only averaged 11.9 points per game and he really struggled to get anything going. He was very passive in terms of attacking the rim and at times, he was so non-existent that it looked like Philly was playing 4-on-5 on the offensive-end of the floor! Not only was Simmons not scoring the basketball when he could have taken advantage of certain matchups, but he only shot 34.2% from the free-throw line in the playoffs on 73 total attempts!
This is extremely inexcusable and while Ben Simmons not being able to shoot has been made a joke over the years, this is no joking matter anymore for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is being classified as a project now by many league executives around the league and while plenty of teams would probably be willing to invest the time to help Simmons figure things out, the 76ers may not have said time anymore.
Championship windows in the NBA are only open for a small period of time and for the Sixers, their window is very small to begin with and is closing fast. Brooklyn has their “Big 3,” which is going to come back next season with vengeance after injuries cost them a shot at a championship this year, and the Milwaukee Bucks have already surpassed the 76ers, as they made the NBA Finals this season representing the Eastern Conference.
READ MORE: Predictions for NBA Trade Rumors: Beal, Lillard, McCollum, Porzingis & Siakam
Trading Ben Simmons in attempts to win now will definitely aid the 76ers in their efforts to win a championship, which is why they could look to pursue an offseason trade involving him. However, if Philadelphia is going to trade Simmons, they are going to want an All-Star caliber player who can help them win a championship during the 2021-22 season. This player could very much be Damian Lillard.
Who knows what is true and not true about Lillard being “frustrated” in Portland, but Philly has been linked to the 6x All-Star and could definitely put together an intriguing trade offer for him. With this said, let’s take a look at a trade proposal put together by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes featuring Damian Lillard being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster deal that involves Ben Simmons as well.
