The Philadelphia 76ers have fired coach Brett Brown after an “embarrassing” first-round playoff exit.
The 76ers were swept by rivals Boston, with star centre Joel Embiid not enough to overcome the Celtics’ firepower, even without the injured Gordon Hayward.
It was another rocky year for Philly, losing Aussie Ben Simmons to a knee injury before the playoffs.
It has been suggested for years now that Simmons and Embiid cannot work as a duo and that Brown, who remains Australia’s men’s basketball coach for the 2021 Olympics, was not capable of solving their lack of chemistry.
After another early playoff exit, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons believes it’s time the 76ers trade Embiid and go all-in on their Australian superstar.
“I was embarrassed for (Embiid). He’s the guy I would trade. I would come in and say we have to trade Embiid, this is only going to get worse. I don’t think he takes this seriously enough,” Simmons said on his podcast for The Ringer.
“I would not trade Ben Simmons. I think Simmons is borderline special and if he had been in this series and Embiid was the one that got hurt, there’s no way the Celtics sweep them. They would have won one of those games.
“As frustrating as (Simmons) is … he was the only guy on that team who could create a shot, he was the best defender on that team by far, he was the most competitive guy on that team and I just think they would have put up a better fight.
“I was embarrassed for (Philadelphia). I don’t know whether they were quitting on their coach or what happened, but as a Celtics fan, we lose Gordon Hayward in game one, I was never worried, I always thought the Sixers were going to roll over, I thought they were terribly coached.
“I partly felt bad for Embiid because no one could get him the ball, but on the other hand he was so tired, it didn’t matter anyway. All he had to do was run back and forth a few times and by the third quarter he was dead.”
As for where he would trade Embiid, who signed a five-year $147 million deal until the end of 2023, Simmons threw up a couple of possibilities.
“Yes I would, right now (trade Embiid to the Indiana Pacers for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis),” he said.
“I would even do Embiid (to the Chicago Bulls) for Wendell Carter, Lauri Markkanen and their pick (pick four). I would call it into the league right now.”
Watching my team get swept hurt, and I don’t ever want to feel that way again.
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) August 24, 2020
The 76ers have not been helped by their recent free agency work, signing both forward Tobias Harris and centre Al Horford to huge deals as complimentary pieces for Embiid and Simmons.
Horford, who signed a four-year $109 million contract, was moved to the bench during the season as it became clear the team could not function with he, Embiid and Simmons on the court together, while Harris, who signed a five-year $180 million deal, has not lived up to the expectations as the team’s primary outside shooter.
Bill Simmons believes the 76ers’ decision to trade for Harris followed by their call to hand him the monster contract has been a huge factor in the derailment of the franchise.
“It all goes back to the Harris trade. They gave up a bunch of assets for this guy, it’s a weird piece, it doesn’t help them even get beyond the second round,” Simmons said.
“Then they panic and overpay him and give him one of the worst contracts of the last five years and it’s like, you make the mistake and then you compound the mistake by making the second mistake. That’s when teams get f—ed up for five years and this team is now f—ed up.”
In the trade, Philadelphia moved Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 unprotected first-round pick and two second-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott.
Shamet has gone on to become an important piece for the title-favourite Clippers, while Harris has mostly floundered with Philly. Scott remains with the team as a depth forward, while Marjanovic is now in Dallas.
The 76ers have been linked to Cleveland championship coach Ty Lue as a replacement for the fired Brown.