3 offseason moves Philadelphia 76ers need to make after embarrassing playoff exit
By Josh Hill
Philadelphia 76ers offseason moves that need to happen after another embarrassing exit from the playoffs.
After an embarrassing exit from the NBA Playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers season has ended with more questions than answers.
It would appear this incarnation of The Process has expired, and Daryl Morey enters an offseason in which he needs to figure out how to add the desperately needed pieces to correct the course that Philly is on now.
From trading Ben Simmons to making moves with both players on expiring deals and free agents on the market, here’s a little look at what the Sixers should do now that the offseason has taken center stage in Philly.
Trade Ben Simmons for Bradley Beal or CJ McCollum
If there’s one thing almost every 76ers fan can agree on heading into the offseason, it’s that Ben Simmons needs to go. The guard hasn’t lived up to his part in the process, and his Game 7 performance was perhaps the most visceral example of how bad things have gotten for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Simmons might still develop into a star that can carry a team to a title, but he’s run out of time to prove he can do that in Philly. The problem with his putrid stretch is its negative effect on his trade value. A team looking to unload an unhappy star will likely be intrigued by the prospect of adding Simmons and trying to fix him, and that’s probably the route the Sixers will have to go this summer.
Bradley Beal’s time in Washington appears to have come to an end, and moving Simmons in a package that sends him to the Wizards will at least be a talking point. Beal in Philly feels like the type of dynamic missing piece needed to take the team to the next level, and he represents almost everything Simmons isn’t.
CJ McCollum should be another target for the Sixers. Adding his shooting would be a major boost to Philly’s lineup, and sending Simmons to Portland to play — and hopefully develop — alongside Damian Lillard could be a sneaky win-win trade for both sides.
Either way, moving Simmons is a must for the Sixers this offseason, as the relationship has deteriorated to the necessity of euthanasia.