Jimmy Butler Was (Sort Of) Right, All the Problems the Sixers Face Today, Started in 2019

“They chose Tobias Harris over me?! Tobias Harris over me?!”

Jimmy Butler with a strong message for the 76ers after the Heat beat Philly in the Eastern Conference Finals. “Tobias Harris over me?”

Video from photojournalist David Silver https://t.co/NdIVGYdQts pic.twitter.com/XDONATuHHW

— WPLG Local 10 Sports (@Local10Sports) May 13, 2022

Jimmy Butler galivanted into the Heat locker room after placing the final nail in the coffin of the Sixers season. He proudly questioned on the way in, how he ended up with the Heat in the first place and how the Sixers gave Harris a contract, but not him.

 

Butler isn’t totally accurate in the how the infamous NBA Summer of 2019 played out. It wasn’t exactly  “Tobias Harris over me (Butler)” that summer. But, it is the beginning of all the problems the Sixers still face today.

 

It’s fitting that the Sixers have made it halfway through the playoffs each season in four of the last five seasons, seeing as they quit on the Process halfway through. The blunders they’ve made since and every hole the roster faces today is a direct result. 

 

They now, again, find themselves spending their summer digging out of a hole they created for themselves three years ago.

SUMMER OF ’19:

The summer that shapeshifted the entire dynamic of the NBA. It was must-follow entertainment at the end of June that the season itself couldn’t droll up sometimes. But in the end, the Sixers were the ultimate losers. The #RunItBack campaign died within an hour of free agency when Butler decided he was signing with the Miami Heat.

 

It wasn’t like Butler put on the show in the 2019 playoffs like he did in the series against the Sixers this year, where he eclipsed 30+ points multiple times. Kawhi Leonard was the best player in the Toronto series and it wasn’t particularly close. Butler finished with 16 points on 5-14 shooting in Game 7 and was outscored by JJ Redick.

 

So recency bias aside, Butler wasn’t carrying his team like he did with the Heat at stretches during the playoffs this season. But even if Butler wasn’t “able” to hit the big shots as a member of the Sixers, he was at least “willing”. It is precisely why they traded for him in the first place. And there were multiple “give me the ball and get out of the way” moments for Butler during the regular season. It was more than you could say for certain other members of the team.

 

This thread from Yaron Weitzman, who’s book on the Process years is an excellent inside look, gives the full context of what happened next.

1. Since “why’d the Sixers let Jimmy Butler go?!” is a big topic today, figured I’d do a thread on what I’ve put together from the past few years. Some of this I’ve written before, some not. Figured would be helpful to put it all in one place. So👇👇👇

— Yaron Weitzman (@YaronWeitzman) May 13, 2022

 

The Sixers knew that there would be an inevitable Civil War between Butler and Ben Simmons for ball control. So they extended Simmons, a year before he was eligible and let Jimmy walk for the scarce return of Josh Richardson. Simmons never grew as a player or as a person. This past summer, the Sixers didn’t improve their roster much given the shortened offseason and the fact they had $35 million allocated to Simmons. Instead of bringing in shooters, or a junkyard dog like PJ Tucker which Embiid hinted at liking, they were tied up with Simmons. And he never came back.

 

The Sixers logistically chose Ben Simmons over Jimmy Butler. They financially chose Al Horford over Jimmy Butler. Horford was going to be this great insurance plan for $109 million. Daryl Morey accomplished a more productive insurance plan in Andre Drummond for $2 million.

 

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE, IN THE SUMMER OF ’22:

The Sixers spent the summer after that digging themselves out of the hole they created. Moving off the ridiculous Horford and Richardson contracts. The following summer they spent it begging Ben Simmons to pick up a basketball. It seems like they can finally stop digging and start building. There is no getting Jimmy Butler back now. But it is painfully obvious how they can build this team out the correct way, and the way they should have three summers ago.

 

For a team that works inside out as much as the Sixers with their center being their best player, they should be loading up on shooters. Embiid’s numbers decline each postseason because he is doubled, if not tripled on every possession. Alleviate the pressure by kicking to shooters. 

 

Another dynamic missing from the team is mental toughness. They fold in big moments and don’t handle pressure well. Ben Simmons was far and away the biggest culprit of mental weakness, but he is not solely to blame. It seems like every time you turn on a Bucks game, Jrue Holiday recognizes the magnitude of the moment. Last season, they brought in a junkyard dog in PJ Tucker to go with Holiday. Mixed in with Giannis and you can see why they were able to get over the hump and win a title. This season Tucker resides in Miami with guys like Butler and Bam Adebayo, who also are “dogs”

 

And say what you want about Draymond Green, he would NEVER let the Warriors go out like the way the Sixers did last night. You would think Philly, of all places, would have a player with that mentality and they just haven’t. It is imperative to start changing the culture when they change the roster.

OH, AND FIRE THE COACH

This doesn’t have much to do with the hole the created in Summer of 2019. But, he deserves to be fired. No matter what the Sixers do this summer, they will inevitably be pushing the luxury tax. In those instances, it’s imperative to have cheap, young talent you can rely on. Think about where the Heat would be without the contributions of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, both of whom went undrafted. They, like the Sixers, have max contracts, at the top. The difference is they developed young talent into contributors they can pair with their salary cap eaters. The head coach of the Sixers refused to play a back-up center with incredible potential who is on a 2^nd Round salary. When asked about his decision to play the corpse of Deandre Jordan over the young center, Rivers chastised the media for it. He is not a good leader, he is not a good developer of talent, and at this time the Sixers need both.