3 Philadelphia 76ers players who won’t be back next season

1. Ben Simmons

Simmons’ struggles at the foul line in the playoffs met head-on with his general lack of aggressiveness late in the fourth quarter of Game 7 against the Hawks when he turned down what would have been an uncontested dunk (Trae Young was not a threat to do anything other than foul him) in favor of a pass to Mattise Thybulle. After the game, Simmons said he felt Danilo Gallinari, who he had gotten by on the post-up, was closing from behind.

“I just assumed Gallo was coming up on my back,” Simmons explained. “And then [John] Collins moved out [of the lane], so I thought we just had a wide-open dunk.”

Gallinari did not check out of the play after Simmons went by him, but he wasn’t exactly closing from behind to block Simmons’ shot either. Passing the ball was a move made by a player whose confidence is shot, and Joel Embiid said he felt the play as a turning point in the game as he called Simmons out.

Simmons’ flaws are not going away. Already unwilling to shoot the ball from outside the paint, he’s now passing up easy opportunities, lest he might get fouled and have to go to the line. Why isn’t he shooting right-handed, exactly? He can’t be any worse if he made the switch.

Frankly, even if he says he’d like to stay with the 76ers (as if he’s going to say anything else), Simmons may need (and want) a change of scenery. He is not the second-best player on a championship-caliber team at this point, and that’s what the 76ers have practically anointed him to be. Remove his name from his stats, and he’s an expensive role player.

With what he can offer, and the idea of being able to fix him, multiple teams will have interest in trading for Simmons. The fulcrum of the 76ers’ offseason will be what they decide to do with him, but things are trending toward a trade that will be good for both sides.