Minnesota Timberwolves: A comparable future outlook to the 76ers

The Second Stars

This is the one area in which the Sixers have a huge edge.

We’re going to set Jimmy Butler aside for the most part here as he is a free agent this summer and outside of holding his Bird rights, it’s unclear whether or not Philadelphia actually has an edge on signing Butler over any other team in the league.

That means that we’re comparing Ben Simmons and Andrew Wiggins. It’s a clear win for Philly all the way around.

Wiggins is already entering Year Two of his max contract. Simmons will be signing his soon. The major difference, of course, is on-court production.

Wiggins’ struggles have been well-documented, both here at Dunking With Wolves and elsewhere. What was a relatively promising Rookie of the Year season back in 2014-15 has morphed into one of the worst contracts in the league.

The former No. 1-overall pick has always struggled with efficiency, preferring to launch difficult, often contested mid-range jumpers over driving to the rim and using his superior athleticism to score at the rim and get to the free throw line. As he’s shot more 3-pointers, his percentage from outside the arc has hovered around league-average at best, too.

Even his free throw shooting has been all over the map, landing south of 70 percent each of the last two season.

Having Jimmy Butler in the fold and now playing for four coaches in five years certainly hasn’t helped matters, but the results simply haven’t been positive.

Simmons, for his part,  is the closest thing to a walking triple-double this side of Russell Westbrook despite never making a 3-pointer in his NBA career and shooting just 58.3 percent from the free throw line over his first two years in the league.

Simmons is an outstanding passer and basically unstoppable in the open floor as he jets to the rim. Somehow, even without a jumper to speak of, Simmons is already an All-Star at just 22 years of age.

There’s no contest here. Sixers win.