Losing sucks. No one likes to do it and works hard to keep from doing it as much as they did the year before. However, in the NBA, there is one good thing about losing. It means you have a very good chance of drafting high and picking up the next great superstar. That is unless you are the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Ben Simmons Situation
Since 2014, the 76ers have had three picks in the top three of the draft, two No. 3 picks and the No. 1 pick last year. While they have picked talented players, they can’t seem to pick healthy ones. Joel Embiid (No.
3 pick in 2014) missed his first two seasons because of an injury. Jahlil Okafor (No. 3 pick in 2015) only played in 53 games during his rookie season in 2015.
It now appears that their latest first-round pick, Ben Simmons (No. 1 pick in 2016), is not going to play during his rookie season either. During the last scrimmage of training camp, he rolled his right ankle and ended up suffering what is known as a Jones fracture (fifth metatarsal bone of his right foot). Typically, recovery from such an injury takes three to four months. For an injury that occurred at the end of September, that means he should have been ready to return by early February at the latest.
The team had talked about him making his season debut after the All-Star break; possibly when Joel Embiid was healthy enough to play again.
But it appears that there has been a setback in his recovery.
With the season already lost...
The team announced Friday morning that tests showed his broken foot had yet to heal completely. So, rather than rush him onto the court before he was 100 percent healthy and risk doing more damage, the team has opted to play it safe and shut him down for the year.
Simmons is said to be "heartbroken" at the news and really wants to play.
"We were not going to put Ben Simmons in a situation where he was at risk for a refracture," Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo told reporters (courtesy of ESPN).
With a record of 21-35 and 26 games left in the season, there is little reason for the team to take a chance on someone they hope will be a future star.
Mathematically, they are not eliminated, but they are 19 games behind the Detroit Pistons for the No. 8 seed. They are not officially out of contention, but it would take a miracle of epic proportions for them to overcome such a deficit.
Trading Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks is proof they are already looking towards the future. But at this point, you have to wonder why they don't just shut down Embiid as well. If they are looking towards the future already, they might as well tank the rest of the season in hopes of getting another top draft pick.
