The 76ers vs. Ben Simmons’ Value
Everyone knows Philadelphia is better off without Ben, and his playoff performance has put his basketball value in the bargain bin.
The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in an impossible situation with Ben Simmons. The former 1st overall pick’s value is minimal, he’s being paid a ton, and has to be traded. Everyone has different opinions on what Ben should do, whose fault it is, and what trade would be best. My aim is to explain his trade value and how the situation got to this point. It is not about whether I like or dislike anything, just how it is.
Ben is where he’s at with the 76ers because of his play versus the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and how he feels about his treatment. Ben’s personality did not change during this ordeal. What did change is his mood. An alteration caused by outside influences. Some under his control and others not.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers’ replied when asked if Ben Simmons could be the starting point guard of a championship team. That response hit Ben hard. His shooting slump during the playoffs was difficult enough for him. Doc’s quote only compounded Ben’s problem. Then there was social media, Philadelphia’s media, Sixer’s fans, and cable sports, all taking Simmons to the stake for his performances. “Ben Simmons has got to go,” were Stephen A. Smith’s exact words on his ESPN show “First Take!”
Would you stay at a job that you felt wasn’t supportive of and treated you poorly? No matter how you felt, you would stay if you had to. That means staying in a locker room you dislike, with a coach or boss you don’t trust, and surrounded by local media and fans you hate. However, Ben Simmons did not have to stay, so he left with a massive guaranteed contract and his value at an all-time low.
It is still true Ben Simmons gave the Sixers close to nothing offensively against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 NBA Playoffs. A player making $177 million over 5 years that does nothing on the court is a risky prospect. Whatever Ben’s ceiling is, given his recent performances, he’s the farthest he has ever been from it. Trading for Ben Simmons right now is like investing in a penny stock. Both being dangerous moves.
Despite that, the Philadelphia 76ers still have to trade him. Given the playoff void that was Ben Simmons, with any solid player in his place, the Sixers could have maybe won it all. Likewise, the better the Sixers are, the worse off their competition is. Which coincides with the worse the 76ers are, the better off the rest of the NBA is; relatively. So if you do not trade with Philadelphia, you are better because they are worse with Ben. If you do trade with the Sixers, they will instantly be better on the court and financially. Again, every team in the NBA wins the trade if there is no trade.
That is why a trade has been hard to complete and this saga drags on. The Sixers can’t seem to grasp the reality of the situation. An NBA team trading for Ben might get the exact thing the Sixers got in the 2021 playoffs. Which would make whoever that team is worse, and the Sixers better. No teams are in the business of charitably helping their opponents get better.
This equates to it being irrational to give Philadelphia valuable pieces. In the balance of a trade, the team getting Simmons absorbs all the risk. That is great for Philly, but ignorant for the other party. Not only does the buyer (with Philly being the seller of Ben Simmons) acquire the risk, but losing something of value to get it makes it even riskier. Therefore, finding a balanced deal means the 76ers will have to trade Ben for players the buyer does not value. That is the uniform view across the NBA, besides Philly, and is why no deal gets done. For the foreseeable future, the 76ers can only hope to trade for teams’ expendable players. It is hard to find a great expendable piece, but there are some potentially good ones.
The best targets for the Sixers would be certain mid-level prospects, and talented role players or starters that do not fit their respective team’s timeline. Ben has an enticing ceiling he’s light years away from. It’s uncertain how close he will get to reaching it, and his present level of play is worrisome. Ben Simmons’ modest trade value, like we have discussed, is based on that, his contract, and Philadelphia’s situation.
When Ben gets traded, we will see if his personality is the real problem, or if the 76ers were the architect of his, and their own, demise.
