Philadelphia 76ers: Is The Big 3 destined to fail?
Is the Big 3 of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler a combustable mess that will never reach their potential with the Philadelphia 76ers?
When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler a couple months ago, many were quick to move the team into contention status. After all, the only real piece to the puzzle that the team was missing from last season was a veteran star that could put them over the top.
And if you simply look at the wins and losses, and the statistics that go along with that, the Sixers are believed to be that contender that most thought they’d be after the trade.
Since adding Butler, the Sixers are 17-8 which is good enough for the NBA’s third best record during that span. They also have the league’s fifth best offense and seventh best Net Rating. Butler has also paid dividends when it matters most, hitting two game-winners for the team already.
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On the surface, the team has three of the 20 best players in the NBA, depending on who you ask, and should be on the short list of teams that could come out of the Eastern Conference, at the very least, and compete with the Golden State Warriors on the biggest stage, at the very most.
Nevertheless, everything isn’t as ideal as it may look. According to a recent report from ESPN, Butler isn’t exactly seeing eye to eye with his head coach and management at the moment. So much so, that it could impact his future with the team.
"Butler has been vocal in his contesting of Brown and his system, including a recent film session in Portland that some witnesses considered “disrespectful” and beyond normal player-coach discourse.….Butler’s sluggish assimilation into the Sixers environment is causing some concern about his long-term viability and fit with the organization, league sources said."
It should be noted that Butler is a free agent after this season, and holds all the power over where he will play for the next few years of his career. However, after trading away two of their rotation pieces to get Butler, there’s no question that a big part of the Sixers’ future revolves around Butler re-signing with the team.
But is this Big 3 just a combustable mess that will never reach its potential? Perhaps that’s putting it a bit harshly, but with what we’ve heard through the first few weeks of this Big 3 isn’t the biggest of recommendations.
And it hasn’t just been Butler either. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was reported that Joel Embiid wasn’t happy with his role in the offense after the acquisition of Butler. And we know the questions that have surrounded Ben Simmons over the first year and a half of his young career.
The Philadelphia 76ers are the fourth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, just three games back of the top seed. There’s no question that this team is going to have a say in who comes out of the East, but there’s a genuine question as to whether this team will ever reach its potential.
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There might be too many egos in the kitchen, and that’s really the only thing standing between this Sixers team and greatness.