2020-21-22 Sixers Season

[phillychuck]

I would absolutely prefer sitting on Simmons as an asset to trading for either Wall or CJ, who are both less able than the young players whose court time they would be eating. And I love CJ as a person and an alumnus of a fine local college (Lehigh); he just doesn't move the needle on winning, especially in the playoffs. Doesn't draw fouls, doesn't generate shots for other players, doesn't play consistently good defense, is an average 2-point shooter and just above average with 3s. Just turned 30. I'm not real enthusiastic about his fit with the Sixers as now constructed.

I actually think Wall is a better fit as a speedy guard (if he's still fast) who can create shots in transition. I haven't seen Wall play this year (isn't Houston sitting him until he's traded?)...did he look fully recovered from his injuries last season?

[Squire]

Sixers patience ran out yesterday. Per Woj....They resumed fining him for missing yesterday's game and plan to continue fining him until he cooperates with team physicians regarding his mental health conditions and other team obligations.

[bigegypt0417]

It was just a matter of time.

Simmons is seeminlgy going to lose in this stand-off.

Morey seems like enough of a pill to let this drag out for quite a while.

[phillychuck]

My kind of pill...

[zambonir]

The funny thing about CJ is he'd be great on the Sixers with Simmons (and Joel, obviously).

Beal is a free agent after this season. The Portland situation could go bad. Wall is a hard salary to take on at any point.

[VoteForKalas]

The problem is he's a depreciating asset to long as he is off the court, and it's not even guaranteed that playing will improve the situation (if he remains unengaged, or struggles, or teams play hack-a-Ben successfully). A month ago it was unthinkable to trade him for Wall, or to settle for CJ instead of Lillard, but he's not going to be worth more in February or July than he is now. Morey isn't really waiting on/playing tough with Ben; he's just hoping the supply side of the market changes.

Exactly right. I think reality is actually more on Simmons' side than the 76ers. His value continues to drop as this drama drags out. General sympathy may grow for Simmons too as time goes by and he is seen as being held up unfairly from plying his trade.

[bigegypt0417]

The problem is he's a depreciating asset to long as he is off the court, and it's not even guaranteed that playing will improve the situation (if he remains unengaged, or struggles, or teams play hack-a-Ben successfully). A month ago it was unthinkable to trade him for Wall, or to settle for CJ instead of Lillard, but he's not going to be worth more in February or July than he is now. Morey isn't really waiting on/playing tough with Ben; he's just hoping the supply side of the market changes.

Exactly right. I think reality is actually more on Simmons' side than the 76ers. His value continues to drop as this drama drags out. General sympathy may grow for Simmons too as time goes by and he is seen as being held up unfairly from plying his trade.

The only way for simmons to come out of this with a positive outcome is for him to come back, play at thr level he's capable and increase his value...it honestly wouldn't take more than 5-10 games to convince other GM's he's worth a good haul.

[VoteForKalas]

The only way for simmons to come out of this with a positive outcome is for him to come back, play at thr level he's capable and increase his value...it honestly wouldn't take more than 5-10 games to convince other GM's he's worth a good haul.

Oh, absolutely, you and I know that. I'm talking about Joe Q. Public who does not know the details of the story and just sees a billion dollar enterprise icing a player for what they may perceive as unfair reasons. The good thing for the 76ers is that Simmons is not respected that much within the NBA or media and has not created amongst the fans a following that could make noise on his behalf.

Simmons comes out of this bad either way it goes. My point is the 76ers have bigger fish to fry, will not want to hang onto a diminishing asset until his value is gone and will likely want to eliminate the distraction and potentially improve their team within this season. Punishing Simmons is not (or should not be) the focus for the 76ers. There needs to be a plan to get him to commit to the team or finally understand he will sit unpaid and being fined at home if he does not. One wishes they had dealt with Simmons this way from Day 1, but that is water under the bridge unfortunately.

[VoteForKalas]

Sixers patience ran out yesterday. Per Woj....They resumed fining him for missing yesterday's game and plan to continue fining him until he cooperates with team physicians regarding his mental health conditions and other team obligations.

Good for them. They have to increase the pressure on Simmons to get him to either commit or sit without pay.

[nycphils]

I don’t think they are fining him for retribution - it’s deterrence. Trying to get him to come back into the team or at least discourage anyone else who might want to pull this stunt someday.

[phillychuck]

VfK..no one is "icing" Simmons. The door is wide open for him to play. He's icing himself, and taking advantage of the mental health community while doing it. And the NBA is undoubtedly 100% aware of and behind the Sixers stance.

[xogfog]

Sixers with a nice road win beating Chicago again on their floor. Win streak at 6, Ben who???

[phillychuck]

It's a different team without Ben for sure. They still need a shot-creating point guard, Maxey will eventually master that role but probably not this season. The team is fun to watch, they really share the ball well.

[bigegypt0417]

Embiid entering the health and safety protocols...it could be an ugly stretch of games for the Sixers.

[teabag259]

Ugh. The “vaccine” fails yet again. Hopefully it’s not too long for him. On the bright side his knee will rest and hopefully heal.

[bkox]

The vaccine didnt "fail" The immunity wanes over time. We dont know if hes gotten a booster yet and he could be near the end of the time frame of the peak immunity of the original shot.

If he was on a vent or we were talking about his funeral services, then maybe you could say the vaccine failed. Im definitely not a fan of big pharma.. but they did awesome work getting this out and have saved countless lives in doing so.

[zambonir]

Unless he goes on a ventilator or dies the vaccine hasn't failed.

So, is Ben gonna step up or...

[allentown]

It would be an interesting test. He and his side have often said/implied that his game doesn't work with Embiid. So, here would be a chance to show the world what he's got, without that mismeld. 99 to 1 he doesn't step forward. He should. I don't see him going anywhere anytime soon, unless he plays and establishes that he has value. The Sixers aren't going to have a fire sale for a mental and physical wreck, especially at a point in time when shedding the salary is unlikely to yield immediate help.

[bigegypt0417]

It sounds like Embiid is symptomatic so his time out could be a bit more extended than others...

[VoteForKalas]

VfK..no one is "icing" Simmons. The door is wide open for him to play. He's icing himself, and taking advantage of the mental health community while doing it. And the NBA is undoubtedly 100% aware of and behind the Sixers stance.

Agreed, again I was stating what Joe Q. Public might believe, not what I believe.