Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid Can Co-Exist Just Fine
Joel Embiid (3rd) and Ben Simmons (2nd) appeared in the All-Star Game this past weekend. But for some reason, the media continues to insist that the two don’t fit together and they do not like each other.
The question is then raised, who is better to build the team around, Embiid or Simmons?
The answer to that is simple: Both.
The Sixers drafted the pair to be the future of the team and be mainstays in what the front office hoped to be a dynasty. The team hadn’t gone completely according to plan after parting ways with “Process” GM, Sam Hinkie and firing his successor Bryan Colangelo. The Sixers have now had three pairs of eyes trying to put together this “dynasty” and it’s showing.
The 76ers have been patient with the two All-Stars, specifically with their injuries. Joel Embiid missed the first two years of his NBA career and Ben Simmons missed the first year. Embiid has been in and out of the starting lineup since, but Simmons has had close to perfect attendance since.
Joel Embiid has all the tools to be great and has showcased them time and time again. On a down year, he is averaging almost 23 points per game and is 6th in the NBA in free throws attempted per game. Embiid is the most confusing player on the league’s most confusing team but, nonetheless, he is perhaps one of the most gifted athletes in all of the sports.
Ben Simmons isn’t half bad himself. The Australian-born Simmons has been destined for stardom since the minute he first picked up a basketball. Simmons, like Embiid, is hard to watch sometimes because you just know that he can do better; the talent is there. This year, the 23-year-old has improved on his free throw shooting – especially lately – and has shown (twice) he is able to make a 3-point shot.
Why would the 76ers trade two perennial All-Stars for years to come? All because the media says they don’t like each other?
You have got to be kidding me.
Neither of the two has said specifically that they want out of Philadelphia. In fact, this weekend the friendship of Embiid and Simmons was on full display in Chicago.
The 76ers are a mystifying team that has been established. Trading one of their two superstars would be even more mystifying. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are two generational talents, and it may not seem like it, but they are still just 23 and 25. Growing pains are part of dealing with players this early in their careers.
We may need to wait on maturity and we may need to wait on certain aspects of their game to develop, but the fact of the matter is that neither player is a finished product.
There is a tendency to overreact here in Philadelphia to things put in the media, so I ask this of you, Sixer fans.
Let’s all take a step back and enjoy the future of the NBA strap up in the red white and blue.
Featured Image: @Sixers
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