There is a big stigma surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. There is a school of thought that the two of them can’t win together and they won’t be able to win a championship together despite their obvious success.
This thought comes from the fact that Simmons has yet to show any improvement on his jumper and Embiid has yet to really have a dominant playoff run. He did average 30 points and 12.3 rebounds in the 2020 playoffs against the Boston Celtics, but it resulted in the team being swept, albeit without the injured Simmons.
With Daryl Morey entering the fray as the new President of Basketball Operations and Doc Rivers entering as the new head coach, the two of them brushed off any notion that the two young stars can’t win together.
“My goal is to win a championship so whatever gets us there is what we’ll do,” explained Morey. “I would say to have two star-plus players at 24 and 26-years old, that is why I couldn’t get Doc Rivers to come interview in Houston because he saw this roster and he said it’s amazing. Obviously, I end up here a couple of weeks later, it’s pretty cool.”
Both Simmons and Embiid are already two of the top 15 players or so in this league and considering how young they still are, it is a little premature to call for the duo to split already. Do they have their flaws? Sure, every player does. However, that does not mean that they cannot win together.
“I have no doubt they can,” added Rivers. “I haven’t been in the lab with them yet, but I know they can. I think we have to change the narrative. They haven’t won yet, not that they can’t win. The ‘can’t’ should be taken out, but there a lot of combinations of players around the league that haven’t won yet. They’re just two other ones. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
Success in the NBA does not happen overnight. It takes time for players to take the next step forward and really reach the mountaintop. Legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and others did not win early on in their careers. They went through the trials that the league has to offer.
Any trade suggestions or proposals involving Simmons or Embiid should be put on hold for at least another year. The organization would like to see what they can do under the tutelage of Rivers and Morey. The two are just so talented, to begin with, and they are still young enough to make strides forward and improve their games. [lawrence-related id=38792,38781,38766]