The Philadelphia 76ers had luck on their side in 2016 as they on the draft lottery and the right to select LSU star Ben Simmons first overall. They had their second star next to Joel Embiid and they could move forward as a franchise. Since then, the two have been All-Star teammates twice and they have come to within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals all while still being so young.
However, if the franchise could re-do things, would they do it differently?
In a 2016 re-draft done by Bleacher Report, they actually have the Sixers selecting Pascal Siakam first overall with Simmons going to the Los Angeles Lakers with the next pick.
B/R on Siakam:
Pascal Siakam trails Ben Simmons in career win shares, box plus-minus and value over replacement player (VORP), three catch-all metrics that have considerable sway over the order of these re-drafts.
But he’s second among 2016 picks in all three, and he’s such a different type of player than Simmons that blind statistical comparison doesn’t settle the discussion in Simmons’ favor. More than that, Siakam’s leaps over the last two seasons have him in a place where, today, at this very moment, he’s more valuable to a team with title aspirations.
Throw out the fact that Siakam already has a ring as a second/third option. That’s helpful to his case, but the reason he comes off the board first has more to do with his game’s scaleability and weakness-free makeup.
Having proved in 2019-20 that he’s now a viable go-to scorer (an incredible evolution considering Siakam was, as recently as two years ago, a dependent offensive player who scored on spoon-fed spot-ups and in transition), Siakam is the kind of threat to whom defenses must devote their full attention. In stark contrast, smart opponents ignore Simmons whenever he’s not running in transition.
Here’s the thing that makes this so complicated. Is Simmons a better player? Probably, but Siakam is a popular pick right now due to the leaps he has been able to make recently. While Simmons has made huge leaps on the defensive end, his lack of a jump shot is something that is a glaring weakness in his game.
In his first season as “the man” with the Toronto Raptors, Siakam is averaging 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 35.9% from deep on 6.0 attempts per game all while being 6-foot-9 and being able to make plays off the dribble. Those are the type of numbers and skills that make him valuable to a contending team right now. The thought of Siakam next to Embiid is a very interesting idea. [lawrence-related id=30855,30847,30828]