76ers owner Josh Harris has started playing favourites between his two young superstars, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
The two are in a power struggle for control of the team and it seems clear who Harris is picking to win, per ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan.
“He’s our most important player,” Harris said of Embiid. “He’s clearly our future – they’re all an important part of the future – but Joel is exceptional.”
That’s basically like my dad saying that while he loves both me and my brother, he loves my brother just a little bit more.
Harris went on to admit that the franchise even consults Embiid on potential trades.
“We generally talk to him about how we are oriented, and what type of players we might be bringing in. We get his advice.
We’re certainly thinking all the time about how to complement his skill set which is 3 and D wings, people who spread the court.”
“[Embiid] is a dominant presence defensively and he’s dominant in the paint.
We need to take the pressure off him so people don’t collapse on him.”
While Simmons is one of the NBA’s most talented youngsters, he isn’t exactly the Batman to Embiid’s Robin.
He has great size for a guard and excellent court vision and passing skills, as well as strong defense.
But he is not a good floor spacer and his particular set of skills don’t exactly match up with what Embiid needs.
It sounds like the 76ers would be happier finding a player that may not have Simmons’s skills, but will be a better-fitting talent for Embiid.
Simmons will be eligible for a contract extension in the offseason and we will have to see if Harris’s words are followed up with actions.
What happens in the offseason will show us how much the 76ers value Simmons.
For more Basketball Forever content, follow @bballforeverfb.