Reminder: Anfernee Simons could be a problem off the bench this year for the Sixers
The entire basketball world is fixated on LeBron James and Jaylen Brown suiting up in Philadelphia, and look, I get it, that’s earth-shattering stuff, but in the middle of all the hype, we’re doing a serious disservice by not shouting out the man who pulled the strings on this whole masterpiece.
Mike Gansey (shoutout West Virginia) put together one of the best offseasons any front office in the league had this summer, and the moves that aren’t grabbing headlines deserve just as much love as the ones that are.
Anfernee Simons is slept on entirely too much
Let’s actually walk through what Gansey did this summer, because when you lay it all out, it’s genuinely absurd. The Sixers came flying out of the gate in free agency with Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and Ariel Hukporti.
Right there, that’s a really nice start and then they went and stacked Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, AND Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on top of it, you’re left with a full-blown roster demolition and rebuild in the span of a few weeks.
Mike Gansey turned a team that needed a jolt into a legitimate juggernaut, and he deserves a mountain of credit for it.
The guys filling in around them are exactly what makes this thing actually work, and that’s the part everybody’s glossing over.
Anfernee Simons Is Going to Be a Problem Off the Bench
Take Anfernee Simons, because this dude is going to matter. Bucket-getters who can come off your bench and immediately put points on the board are worth their weight in gold, and that’s precisely what Simons brings. A second unit with that kind of scoring punch is a nightmare for opposing teams trying to survive when the starters sit.
In 55 games between Boston and Chicago last year, Simons put up 14.3 points, 2.5 boards, and 2.4 dimes while drilling 38.5% from three. The fact that you can get that kind of scoring as a complementary piece instead of a featured option is a straight-up luxury and as you just watched above, the 8-year vet is already back in the gym grinding to get right for the season, which is exactly the mentality you want from a guy joining a team with real expectations.
This is a franchise that hasn’t been past the second round since 2001. TWENTY-FOUR YEARS. Two-plus decades of running face-first into the same wall over and over, and star power by itself has never been enough to knock it down.
What Mike Gansey did this summer was finally surround the stars with real, functional, playoff-caliber depth. Simons, Wade, KCP, Hukporti, guys who can actually contribute when the games get tight and the lights get bright.
Championship teams aren’t built on two names at the top and a bunch of hope after that. They’re built on being deep, on having seven, eight, nine guys who can step up when a star’s having an off night or nursing a bruise.
Anfernee Simons dropping 14 off the bench, KCP bringing a ring and elite spacing, Wade giving you versatility, it all adds up to the kind of roster that finally climbs over that second-round hump this city has been stuck under my entire adult life.
So by all means, obsess over LeBron and Jaylen Brown. Circle the national TV games, buy the jerseys, soak up every second of the hype. It’s all earned and it’s all fun as hell. But don’t you dare forget the guy who engineered the whole thing behind the curtain.
Mike Gansey took a roster that needed serious work and completely flipped it, landing the megastars AND plugging every hole around them without missing a beat.
This was a grand-slam offseason from top to bottom, and I’ve got a feeling the “forgotten” additions are going to end up being every bit as important as the superstars when this team finally chases down something this franchise hasn’t sniffed in nearly a quarter-century.
Hell of a summer, Mike Gansey.
Join The Chase
Read More
WATCH: LeBron, Maxey and Brown’s first practice together got me BRICKED
Say what you want about me, I got bricked up…
Sixers announce 4-game preseason schedule
The countdown to the most anticipated Sixers season in ages…
76ers jersey rumors are swirling and losing the black throwbacks would be the dumbest outcome possible
76ers jersey talk has picked up fast this offseason, and…
Comments (0)