The Philadelphia 76ers just added one of the best pure scorers in the league, and nobody is talking about it enough. Anfernee Simons agreed to a deal with Philly, giving Nick Nurse a bucket-getter who can create his own shot at any spot on the floor.
Simons is 26 years old. He averaged over 19 points a night for Portland last season. He shot the ball at a respectable clip from deep. The 76ers were bleeding offense every time Tyrese Maxey went to the bench. That problem is now solved.
Here is the real value of this move. Simons does not need the ball to score. He runs off screens like a young Ray Allen, and Philly has one of the best pick-and-roll bigs in the league in Joel Embiid. Simons will get open looks every possession he is on the floor.
People forget how good Simons was in Portland when he had the green light. He dropped 45 points in a game more than once. He hit nine threes in a playoff game against Denver back when the Blazers still had Damian Lillard. The talent has always been there. Portland just never gave him a real infrastructure.
Philadelphia has that infrastructure. Embiid pulls two defenders. Maxey pulls another. That leaves Simons matched up with third or fourth options on defense. That is a nightmare for any team.
The 76ers had a rough finish to last season. Injuries wrecked their playoff run. This signing tells us the front office is not blowing it up. They are doubling down on offense and daring the East to keep up.
Boston lost Jaylen Brown. Milwaukee moved Giannis Antetokounmpo. The East is wide open right now, and Philly just added a 20-point scorer for the mid-level exception money. That is a bargain in this cap environment.
The critics will point out that Simons is not a plus defender. Fair. But Nick Nurse has always found ways to hide his weaker defenders. Toronto did it with Kyle Lowry hunting steals. Philly will do it by playing Simons off the ball on defense and letting the length of Embiid and Paul Reed cover for him.
The other thing this move does is give Maxey a real running mate. Maxey has been asked to do too much for too long. He plays 40 minutes a night, guards the other team’s best scorer, and runs the offense. Simons lets Maxey breathe.
The best sign for Philly fans should be Simons himself talking about the fit. He knows he is coming to a team with real title expectations. He has never been on that stage before. Guys who have never played in that pressure cooker sometimes shrink. But sometimes they explode.
Bet on Simons exploding. This is the perfect situation for him. A contender that needs shot-making. A coaching staff that respects offense. A superstar big man who will make defenses collapse and leave shooters wide open.
The 76ers had a quiet offseason until this. Now they might have the deepest guard rotation in the East. Maxey, Simons, and a healthy Embiid is a real threat.
The Celtics should be worried. The Knicks should be worried. Even the new-look Miami Heat should pay attention. Philadelphia just got scary again, and it did not cost them a first-round pick.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
