Ben Simmons for Paul George: Do You Do the Deal?

The one thing that never lacks in Philadelphia is the passion of the everyday fan. Philadelphia fans are the heartbeat to every sports franchise in the city and wear their feelings on their sleeves at every chance they get. However, I feel their judgement is somewhat cloudy at times and limits what they can actually envision.

I recently posted a poll on our Twitter page that simply asked, “Would you trade Ben Simmons for PG13?” With that simple question a tsunami erupted throughout the town and less than 10% of the “Yes” voters gave me more than a “No” for a response. This is the cloudy vision I was referring to above.

All I am asking is that you take off the goggles for one minute and envision this team with a threesome of George, Saric and Embiid. I personally believe the possibilities are endless and playoff contention is right around the corner. With this vision, I want you to fully understand my thought process included Embiid being healthy and able to play more than the 30 games a year I think you can expect of him. Am I wrong to assume this trio would average a combined 70 points a game or more?

For the record, I have nothing against Ben Simmons at all. I think he could be an accomplished player in this league for many years. However, nothing in the NBA is guaranteed and luck can change in the matter of seconds. Just ask the fragile bone in the Australian native’s foot that seemed to never fully heal. Am I the only one that is concerned about this lingering injury and its possible reoccurrence in the future?

This brings me to PG13 and the dominance he already possesses on the basketball court. If you have watched the first two games of the Cleveland series you already know how special he really is. He is a true leader and superstar who would look really good in a Sixers uniform. Yes, he said he should have taken the last shot in Game 1 in the post-game presser, but contrary to public opinion he did not verbally attack his teammates. He simply stated he trusted all his teammates, but feels he needs to be the one to take the last shot. Isn’t that what you want in a leader? Isn’t that the same kind of logic a guy by the name of Iverson lived by in this town?

Let’s look at a few questions that I have been asked about this subject so far….

Why would you want a 26 year old player who costs a lot of money instead of a 20 year old player who doesn’t?

—Let me first start off by saying who cares about the money. The Sixers fanbase has been overpaying for a low grade product while lining the pockets of the owners over the last several years. Did they ever once think about us being able to afford going out to a game full of D-League talent?

As far as the age goes, 26 isn’t old by any means and is actually considered an NBA player’s prime. Michael Jordan himself didn’t start his dominance until age 28 when he won his first championship.

Why not just wait for our nucleus to develop and build the right way?

—Last time I checked we have been building the right way for years and all we have to show for it is Saric. Embiid is still a question mark and Ben has shown us he can be the best practice player around, but still has shown nothing on the court.

Paul George is in “Win Now” mode and we still do not know who Ben Simmons is. I understand the wait and see approach, but why not go all in right now and be an instant contender for the next 4 years. LeBron is on the down slide and teams like Boston and Milwaukee are already building their blueprint for the trophy. If we wait any longer we could still find ourselves on the backend of the bracket. Did you think of that scenario?

The Sixers have everything in place right now except that final piece. Is that final piece Ben Simmons? Only the basketball Gods can answer that question. I am looking at the 2-4 year wait period that everyone else is looking towards for development as the golden time to win. The only thing stopping us from leading that charge is the Sixers going from PG to PG13. I still say #DotheDeal!

As always you can stop by my Facebook page (FantasySportsAddiction) or tweet me (@TCutillo23) for questions or some nice fantasy debates. I can also be heard weekly via the internet stream live at WengRadio every Monday at 4:00pm EST for a weekend sports wrap. But most importantly, you can catch me here at Pi!

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