Ben Simmons has been the focus of much media attention over the course of the last few months following the 76ers' playoff exit against the Hawks. Ben Simmons has been wanting to get traded from the 76ers for quite some time now, but the 76ers have held on to the 3-time All-Star thus far due to the lack of suitable offers.
While some franchises may have reservations about trading for Ben Simmons after his playoff performances, there is no question that he is still an objectively good basketball player. When speaking to Shaquille O'Neal on an episode of The Big Podcast, Isiah Thomas explained why he thinks teams should still trade for Ben Simmons and claimed that Simmons "is not a broken player". (8:05)
I absolutely trade for Ben Simmons, and here is why. To me, Ben Simmons is not a broken player. He was their best defender, he was an All-Star, and he led them in assists.
Now what Ben Simmons' problem is, is not that he can't shoot the basketball. His problem is that he can't make free throws as a point guard. As a point guard, the leader of the team, if Ben Simmons became a better foul shooter, Ben Simmons would be averaging 19 points a game, 8 rebounds, 8 assists... and wouldn't nobody have a problem with Ben Simmons.
Ben Simmons needs to get in the gym and work on foul shooting. If he becomes a better foul shooter, he'll add 4 to 5 points to his scoring average, and he'll be inside the post making layups and everything else, going to the foul line, just like another person that Shaq idolized that couldn't shoot, and his name was Magic Johnson.
Ben Simmons may not be a jump shooter, but as Thomas mentioned, he could become a better scorer if he were to improve his foul shooting. Other people, such as Stephen A. Smith, have also suggested that Ben Simmons could average more points if he were to improve on his free throws. Ben Simmons shot a paltry 34% from the free-throw line during the playoffs: it's only up from there.
It remains to be seen how the 76ers will approach the Ben Simmons situation going forward. Most recently, Rich Paul has blasted the 76ers for trying to force Ben Simmons to play, claiming that it has "furthered" the previously reported mental health issues for the star. Ben Simmons has still not played a game for the 76ers. One would hope that this situation is resolved sooner rather than later, and it would definitely be nice to see Ben Simmons on an NBA court once again.
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