For all of the nonsense of the past year in the world of the Philadelphia 76ers, it was a shame to watch it come down to Kawhi Leonards last second, buzzer beater, bouncing around the rim and finally dropping in to send the Sixers home, again. As disheartening as the loss was and I’m sure that there are tons of fans that are making it seem like the end of the world, it’s truly not. The future is bright in Philly. But this offseason is the most crucial since the whole “process” started.
Brett Brown returns
First things first, Brett Brown is coming back. The team announced that he would be back next year as the head coach of the team. Is that a good or a bad thing? For quite a while I’ve been vocal about what I think of Brown. I don’t believe that he makes good choices, nor do I think that he puts the players in the best places to succeed. He’s constantly talking about how much he enjoys Joel Embiid shooting three-pointers. He talks about Ben Simmons as if he has no issue with him not shooting any jumpers or three-pointers. He has made questionable substitutions, poor play calls and my general feeling is that he’s not leading the team but rather allowing the team to get by on talent alone.
That only goes so far in the NBA, apparently, the limit is the second round of the playoffs. With that being said, Brown is coming back, for next year at least, but I imagine his leash will be a short one. Hopefully, as the players are expected to improve, so too is the coach. Not just in the wins column but actually develop and improve as a coach. His first move needs to be forcing Simmons to be an active and aggressive part of the offense. Tell him to shoot the ball. Don’t recommend. Don’t ask. Tell him that you expect him to shoot the ball. With that, he needs to allow Simmons to be in control of the offense. The days of Simmons bringing the ball up and handing off to Embiid need to be left in the past. Simmons is an extraordinary passer in the league and his height and talent will allow him to control the game whereas Embiid is not as gifted with the ball in his hands. It causes Simmons to be a statue on offense and Embiid has way too many turnovers trying to put the ball on the floor.
Embiid's growth
Secondly, put Embiid in the low post and leave him there. There will be times that Embiid can be out on the perimeter but he would destroy almost anyone in his way if his game was in the low post. Like it or not, Brown is here this year, so we might as well get behind the coach because the players all love playing for him.
Joel Embiid needs a nutritionist. It doesn’t matter what happens with his game right now, Embiid needs someone to make sure his diet is one that’s built around an athlete. If anyone sees him stretching on the sidelines, prior to games, while eating double cheeseburgers or Chik-Fil-A sandwiches, they need to slap them out of his hand. He needs to make a commitment to his health and physical shape. Too many times, as the season progressed, Embiid was tired, winded or flat-out out of shape. That’s not what you want, nor expect, from the face of this franchise. After a few years of injuries, he was relatively healthy this year, but he is far from in great shape. That should be his priority this offseason. After that, continue to work on his post moves, his dribbling, and his shooting. He can be one of the most dominant players in the league if he can continue to stay healthy and be active on the floor. His focus needs to be on becoming the player everyone knows that he can be.
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Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Shoot your shot
Ben Simmons needs to shoot the ball. Everyone knows it. Hell, even Simmons knows it. But, Simmons hasn’t been charged with shooting the ball. As I said earlier, Brown is doing him no favors by taking the ball out of his hands after he comes past half-court. When Embiid is out, Simmons is asked to be aggressive and he responds with huge games. Then, Embiid returns and Simmons is relegated to standing around. Simmons, if he’s going to be your point guard, and he can be, should be running the offense. He’s big enough and talented enough to abuse anyone that opposing teams would throw at him. He should be controlling where the ball goes as he’s the best passer on the team.
The talk of late, from people who seem to be drinking early in the day, is that they should trade Simmons for any number of players like LeBron, Kemba Walker, and a few others. Simmons is twenty-two years old. He’s not even close to his prime and he’s already one of the better players in the league, so the nonsense of trading him away has to stop. People tend to forget that this was the second year for Embiid and Simmons on the court together and in the middle of it they threw in Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Those moves alone have saved Brown's job for another year, but that should also give Simmons some leeway. Now that he’s had some time with each player, his focus should be on improving his shooting and taking charge of this team. He needs to be the floor leader. Let Embiid give the crazy quotes and Instagram posts.
Free agency
Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris need to be re-signed. There’s not much more to it than that. Both players came at a large price for the team and there’s no reason to believe that they won’t be treated as “max” guys when the team negotiates with them. They were brought here because they were way more talented than the players they were replacing and they’re to be huge parts of this team for years to come. Butler will be thirty years old at the start of next season. He’s in his prime. Harris will be twenty-seven and is just entering his prime. While Butler has been a star for some time now, Harris has become a better player each year that he’s been in the league. There’s no reason to see that stopping.
The Sixers need to bring them both back, pay the money, and lock up the four stars they have for the next five years together. Short of the Warriors out west, there isn’t a starting five that could compete with the Sixers starters and that will hold true for the next few years as they grow together and it will be on full display next season when they’re signed and don’t have to worry about moving or being traded. For all of the nonsense that has accompanied “the process” in Philly, it’s time to actually step up and start putting their money where their mouth is.
JJ Redick is the final piece of the starting five and he’ll be thirty-five at the start of next season. While his best days should be behind him, Redick is still a fantastic shooter and had some truly rough spots this season as the team changed identity quite a few times. With a whole year behind him and the others coming back, Redick can relax and not have to worry about being option #3 on the team.
Having him come back is important. His shooting alone is worth it in the NBA, he’s still a healthy player who moves well. He can also work with the younger players like Zhaire Smith and Shake Milton, two guys that are supposed to be able to shoot and are young and would benefit from working with him. You can see the change in Landry Shamet as the season went on and he spent his time with Redick. He became a very good shooter, prior to being traded and even after. Shamet finished shooting 42% from three-point range this year and while he has nothing to do with the team going forward, players like Milton and Smith would benefit greatly from the knowledge of Redick.
There’s no reason to not bring him back and there’s no reason to think that he won’t want to come back. One thing he doesn’t have is a title. If the Sixers can bring back the starters this year and with all of the moves expected to happen around the league, the next year or two provide a real chance for that in Philly for him.
After the starters, who should all be back, there’s some serious work to be done by Elton Brand. Mike Scott seems to have found a home and he should be brought back. Shake Milton and Zhaire Smith should actually provide some offense and in Smith’s case, some defense to the second unit next year. They should both be looked at to contribute. Did James Ennis or Jonathon Simmons show enough in their time here to be brought back? I’m not sure. They’re both serviceable and could be more affordable options compared to those available in free agency. Is Boban Marjanovic coming back? I’m sure that Harris would love him to be. Did he show enough to be given limited minutes next season? Probably. He’s efficient and shoots well.
If it all comes together...
If Embiid can improve his health and stamina, then you really don’t need to expect much from Boban and he could be a good piece to clog the lane when Embiid is on the bench. Jonah Bolden? Well, he’ll be back. Did he do much or show much this year? Not really, but again, there wasn’t much opportunity and the team was going through some growing pains with all the new players they brought in during the season. Last but not least, is TJ McConnell. He’s the fan favorite. Everyone loves him. Some people still continue to scream about him being a starting point guard for the team, which is completely ridiculous. But, he could give you those backup minutes, is a vocal cheerleader and a good team guy. Is there a better, affordable option? Probably not.
The biggest part of the offseason is getting everyone under contract as the team only has five players under contract for next season. Get Harris and Butler signed as soon as you possibly can and then work from there. If they allow either of them to walk it will set the team back and they will have wasted plenty of talent to rent them for a short time. Ideally, they’ll be back and Bryan Colangelo won’t be around at all, so there are some positives so far. What is needed, is patience. Everyone is excited because of the potential of the team and its young players, but patience is the key. It’s only been two complete years with our two young, drafted players and only a couple months with the team together as it should be next season. Keeping this team together will allow them to compete for titles for the next several years, it’s just really a matter of whether Elton Brand can make that happen. I haven’t seen a reason to doubt him yet.
Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
