Getty Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks looks on as Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson goes to the basket.
After all the twists and turns the Ben Simmons saga took this summer, it looks as though the Aussie floor general will likely remain with the Philadelphia 76ers for the time being. Daryl Morey isn’t dealing for pennies on the dollar, so the next move is convincing Simmons that it’s in his best interest to actually play.
If the sides can somehow get to that point, though, there’s a still a major, lingering problem to be solved. Specifically, Simmons’ inability to act as even a minor threat as a jump shooter.
His complete lack of an outside game throughout his career has become the stuff of legend. And his unwillingness to make something happen offensively during the 2021 NBA Playoffs may have cost Philly a shot at the title.
However, some still believe that Simmons can make himself viable on the perimeter. As reported by TMZ on Thursday, a seven-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer offered the strongest endorsement yet of his offensive potential.
Iso Joe: ‘Nothing Wrong’ With Simmons’ Jumper
At this point, many feel as though the book has already been written on Simmons’ offensive game. Legendary baller Joe Johnson has a completely different take on the former No. 1 overall pick, however.
“I honestly don’t think nothing’s wrong with it,” Johnson said when asked about fixing Simmons’ shot. “You see him playing pickup basketball shooting jumpers, fadeaways, threes … so we all know it’s there.”
Johnson was, of course, referring to the videos depicting Simmons raining buckets from all over the court trending on social media (a summertime hoops tradition); the same ones that Sixers legend Charles Barkley blew off earlier this month. Clearly, though, Iso Joe believes there’s actually something there.
“He just has to take that same confidence that he has in pickup and translate it into an NBA game,” Johnson added. “That’s it. You’re gonna miss and make shots, you can’t care about the misses. He’s just got to continue to take them.”
Johnson knows a thing or two about missing shots; the 40-year-old misfired nearly 10,000 times over his 17-year career. Nevertheless, he remains one of the all-time great shooters and scorers the Association has seen.
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Insider Floats Simmons-Kyrie Trade
On Tuesday, True Hoop’s David Thorpe took a stab at possible deals the Sixers could look at for Simmons. One trade deemed “unlikely to happen, but interesting” would see one of the best bucket-getters in the league joining the Sixers in Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving.
Wrote Thorpe:
Simmons to Nets for Kyrie Irving works for both teams, in the sense that Simmons actually fills the Nets needs more than Kyrie does, but who thinks Kevin Durant would be OK with the Nets trading away his handpicked point guard?
His assertion that the hypothetical deal would be a win-win definitely holds weight. The Nets’ porous defense would definitely improve and Joel Embiid would no longer have to worry about his running mate passing up open shots. However, it’s likely not a trade that’s in the cards for the respective clubs.
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