Philadelphia 76ers: Beat the Sacramento Kings into a rebuild

The Sacramento Kings are out on trading with the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons… probably.

Do I believe that someone close to the situation gave this information to Adrian Wojnarowski in earnest? Yes, yes, I do. Do I believe that the Kings have genuinely turned their attention to other options, say Domantas Sabonis or John Collins, because Daryl Morey’s price is too high? Yes, I think that is likely true too.

But do I believe the Kings are out out on BS? No, unless they can pull off some sweetheart deal that exchanges Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley with the Atlanta Hawks for their $125 million forward, I would imagine Sacramento could chill, take a beat, and circle back to the Sixers for a Pawn Stars-style “best I can do,” to try to end their playoff doldrums once and for all.

Fortunately for the Philadelphia 76ers, their next game is against the Sacramento Kings, and if they beat the bricks off of Alvin Gentry‘s team, maybe it’ll push GM Monte McNair a few steps closer to accepting that his roster will never be good enough without a radical overhaul.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a unique opportunity to make a statement versus Sacramento.

To paraphrase NBA Twitter, Tyrese Haliburton is nice.

He’s a great passer, an even better shooter, and a much-improved defender who had unquestionably earned the moniker of two-way player. While Haliburton’s game alone isn’t enough to elevate a team from a spot in the lottery to the playoffs, let alone in the play-in tournament, he’s a perfect complementary piece who can help to fill in the gaps on virtually any roster across the NBA.

In a weird way, what makes Haliburton such a fantastic fit with the Philadelphia 76ers as a glue guy between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is what makes him such a perplexing “untouchable” player in Sacramento: He’s Robin.

Again, Robin is nice. Every good team needs at least one Robin, and the really good teams have a few who know their roles, play them well, and occasionally win a single game all on their own.

But you don’t build a team around Robin. It’s been tried – see the Teen Titans or the 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets – and while it can be fun to watch when push comes to shove, a marquee name, be that Batman or Kevin Durant, always has to come in to take the team over the top.

Ben Simmons, though far from a superstar, is much closer to Durant than D’Angelo Russell and presents a sort of rebuild-on-the-fly starter kit for any team looking to undergo a radical retooling midseason. If a team trades for him, and he’s the best player on the squad, a general manager suddenly has a road map they can follow in terms of hiring a head coach, scouting for the draft, and signing free agents to fill out the roster.

Is a Simmons-focused roster hard to amass? Somewhat. Ideally, you’d need a secondary playmaker, an athletic center, and shooters of all shapes and sizes to fill out the roster, but it’s possible. The Kings have been trying to build around De’Aaron Fox for five years, and Haliburton is going into Year 2 and all they’ve done is draft Davion Mitchell and fill out their bench with “marquee” free agents like… Alex Len.

I mean, hey, if that’s what the Kings want to take with their franchise, who am I to judge? I just find it a bit odd that a team with a reported mandate from ownership to make it to the playoffs would check swing on their first chance to land a legit difference-making player since Chris Webber all the way back in 1998.

Huh, how did that deal work out for the Kings?

Look, I get it; taking a big swing is scary. If it doesn’t work, everyone loses their job, and if Ben Simmons’ track record is of any indication, I could see a team in an unflattering market having pause when it comes to cashing out the farm for an All-Star player regardless of how many years are left on his contract. But after losing their last five games by a combined score of 549-633, it’s clear something has to change, be that the personnel, the front office, or the expectations of the ownership group. If the Philadelphia 76ers distort that point difference even further with a commanding win over Tyrese Haliburton and company, Monte McNair will have to accept that his team isn’t good enough and either make a move to radically alter his roster or watch someone else do it in the not too distant future.