The Philadelphia 76ers are still in the midst of picking up the pieces following a very disappointing Game 7 loss at home to the Atlanta Hawks in Round 2 of the playoffs. It was a game that featured a lot of the same issues that have dogged the Sixers in the past and there are some clamoring for change.
The player who is bearing the brunt of the criticism right now is star guard Ben Simmons. He once again came up small in a big moment as he took only four shots in Game 7 and this comes after he took only six shots in Game 6 and only four shots in Game 5 as his aggressiveness was just not there.
That could be pointed to the fact that he shot just 34.2% from the line in the playoffs as he struggled mightily from the line. He could have been afraid of getting fouled and that is probably a big reason for his lack of aggression.
As the offseason now gets underway, the Sixers remain committed to Simmons and trying to get the most out of him. On top of that, there is no trade request coming from Simmons or his agent, Rich Paul.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports:
Paul engaged the Sixers on whether it makes sense to work together to find a trade before the start of next season, but no request was made and the sides are expected to continue talking ahead of the July 29 NBA draft and August free agency, sources said. The 76ers are committed to keeping Simmons as a central piece of their franchise, sources said.
Despite Simmons scoring a combined 19 points in the final three games against the Hawks, his trade value in the marketplace is still significant, sources said.
Teams have been using the Chicago pre-draft camp to gauge the Sixers’ interest in trade packages, sources said, although Philadelphia remains reluctant to break up the tandem of Joel Embiid and Simmons without maximizing a return and exhausting all possibilities to improve Simmons’ offense, sources said.
Coach Doc Rivers did mention that he has a plan for Simmons and he expressed his belief in his All-Star point guard going forward. At the end of the day, Simmons is still only 24-years old and he has been an All-Star three times in four seasons while also being named to the All-Defensive First Team twice. It is rare to have a talent like that.
This does not mean that Simmons is untouchable, but it also means that the Sixers won’t just trade Simmons for nothing. It has to be for the right deal. He is too big of a talent to really just give up on.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=47742]
[lawrence-related id=47872,47868,47865]