Ben Simmons is the best rookie passer I’ve witnessed over the last decade. He’s also a huge human being with the handles of a point guard, which led to Chicago Bulls’ rookie Denzel Valentine calling him “mini-LeBron.”
In 2006, the Boston Celtics acquired Rajon Rondo in a draft-day trade with the Phoenix Suns, who were already salivating over Steve Nash’s passes. Earlier this week, Ben Detrick of The Ringer compared Simmons to Jason Kidd, but I keep picturing this year’s No. 1 pick as a mash between Rondo and LeBron James. Why nitpick? Kidd has sunk the fifth-most threes in NBA history to date, and while he had impressive size at point guard, Simmons makes him look miniature. Rondo on the other hand has been a trickster with the rock since day one, dishing some of the sexiest dimes we’ve ever seen. A bigger Rondo, or a slightly smaller version of LeBron, albeit with much less scoring ability, sounds just right for the Australian point forward.
Whether you prefer the comps to Kidd, LeBron, Rondo, Lamar Odom, or someone else though, Simmons is drawing eyes from around the globe during Summer League. The thought of him setting up Joel Embiid is providing tangible hope that Philadelphia can begin to climb out of the bomb shelter they barricaded themselves in for the past three seasons.
Simmons is being afforded all the space in the world during Summer League, and that won’t soon change. Just about every player mentioned thus far in this piece—with Nash being the exception—has received plenty of room to roam freely along the perimeter. Even a scoring machine like LeBron has forced opponents to focus mainly on shutting down his teammates at times. The phrase, “you have to make ____ a scorer” has applied to all aforementioned athletes. For those stars, it wasn’t because they didn’t possess the ability to score. It was that you knew those players looked to make their teammates better, and you’d better not let the whole team get hot—wiser to try to stop that fire from spreading quickly hand-to-hand by forcing the facilitator into beating them singlehandedly.
The ability to pass comes from an innate desire to share, one Simmons clearly possesses. Even if he doesn’t develop a jumper, he’ll make his teammates better over the course of his career. The real evolution in his game of course will be his shooting and scoring. NBA teams will look to take away Simmons’ passing lanes and force him into a more selfish role. Even if Simmons doesn’t develop an outside shot, if he can at least develop a decent mid-range game and improve his finishing around the rim, he could be an MVP candidate down the line.
Defensively he has been quite good, showcasing the switch-ability that encapsulates the future of the association. Will he be able to beat defenders in one-on-one situations and get buckets? Basketball is a team game, but this aspect (along with the health of Joel Embiid) seems set to either keep Simmons and the Sixers grounded or separate himself and the franchise from the rest of the Eastern Conference in a post-LeBron world.
Other 76ers Summer League Thoughts
Timothe Luwawu-Caboarrot—TLC has been up-and-down thus far. You don’t want to take away too much from Summer League, but he’s probably at least a year away from making a real impact. He’ll get regular playing time as a rookie, but it probably won’t be that much. In my opinion, Luwawu mostly just needs to add strength and keep working on his outside shooting.
Jerami Grant—Grant is a tricky fit with Simmons offensively since neither one of them can shoot, but Brett Brown can get creative and find ways to pair those two in some lineups. Grant also forced Brandon Ingram into an awful performance over the weekend, stifling the rookie with devastating defense. Don’t give up on Grant yet—there’s a lot to like about this guy.
Nik Stauskas—The fact that he’s not playing anymore in Summer League likely means he has made the roster, but I’m not sure that Stauskas is worthy. Unless the 76ers have a trade in the works, there’s a good chance that a player they don’t sign from their SL team will earn a contract from another club. Stauskas entered the league pegged as a sharpshooter lacking both the size to play shooting guard and the handle to hold down the point. His defense has been abysmal, and that three-point stroke has underwhelmed. To his credit, he looked alright in Summer League, and appeared to have bulked up a bit.
Guards Brandon Paul and Maodo Lo have both been solid during Summer League. Neither is likely to make an NBA roster, but they may earn training camp invites from someone.
Christian Wood and Richaun Holmes are going to be valuable centers in the NBA. It’s crazy how many young big men Philadelphia has right now, but they probably can’t keep them all—nor should they. If Wood or Holmes gets let go by the Sixers, it will be interesting to see who scoops them up. It shouldn’t take long for another front office to pounce if that opportunity presents itself.
T.J. McConnell—It ended with internet memes of McConnell making funny faces, but the sophomore went toe-to-toe with the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell. McConnell has been extremely solid in Summer League, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be a backup in this league for a long time if he keeps working hard and stays healthy.
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