Philadelphia 76ers: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Storyline 2: Can Fultz and Simmons co-exist?

One of the highlights of the NBA offseason was the Sixers’ pre-draft transaction with the Boston Celtics that brought them the No. 1 overall draft pick. With that selection, the Sixers chose Markelle Fultz of the University of Washington. A 6’4″ point guard, Fultz’s combination of ball-handling and scoring ability led to him the being the consensus No. 1 overall selection in a draft stacked with up-and-coming talent.

However, the quandary with such a selection is the Sixers had already selected another point guard with the No. 1 overall selection in 2016. Although he didn’t participate in a game last season due to a foot fracture, Ben Simmons has already been assured of the team’s primary ball-handling duties by head coach Brett Brown.

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As Brown explained last season:

"“He wants the ball, and he has a complete passion to pass. So if you just take those two qualities, and forget how big he is, then you say well the starting point is interesting if you wanna try to say, ‘Well, you’re a point guard’…..When I say ‘point guard,’ I mean ‘point guard’…..I don’t see him guarding the opposition’s point guard. It could end up he guards who guards him, so you’re not cross-matched in transition defense. “But my starting point is where I end up, he’s got a quality that he wants the ball and he loves to pass. And so we’re gonna persevere, and see where this plays out.”"

If we’re to take this at face value, this most likely means Fultz will playing predominately off the ball to commence his NBA career. In his sole college season, Fultz averaged 5.9 assists per game, to go along with 23.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Considering Brown’s comments, it’s likely to kick off the season that Fultz and veteran addition J.J. Redick will be the primary off-the-ball starters accompanying Simmons. In his time at Washington, Fultz demonstrated a terrific outside touch, hitting at a 41.3 percent clip from behind 3-point range. Along with the addition of Redick, the Sixers will be hoping to improve substantially on their miserable 34.0 percent conversion rate from downtown, which ranked 25th overall.

So while Simmons has been earmarked as the primary ball-handler, considering both he and Fultz have yet to debut in the league, it should be realistically expected that both Simmons and Fultz will be in control of the ball while on the floor. This not only provides each player with the experience to develop their respective games, but should simultaneously take the pressure off one and other as they look to establish themselves in the league.