76ers HC Brett Brown 'Convinced' Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons Will Win an NBA Title

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown said Monday he's "convinced" Sixers center Joel Embiid and point guard Ben Simmons can work together to eventually win an NBA title.

"I personally am convinced those two are going to win a championship at some point in their career and that they, for sure, can coexist," Brown told reporters. "The myth is that they can't. I think that is so abused and not articulated the way I see it."

ESPN's Tim Bontemps reported in February the idea of trading either Embiid or Simmons to reshape the team's core would "gain traction" if Philly failed to advance beyond the second round of the 2020 playoffs.

"There is no consensus, but league execs think that if the Sixers do explore a trade, Embiid is more likely to be moved—health being the determining factor in building around Simmons," Bontemps wrote. "One exec added that a big trade featuring Simmons or Embiid might be the only way to reshape the team."

Questions have been raised about whether Embiid, a more traditional, slow-paced post player, can team with the up-tempo offense Simmons would prefer to run over the long haul. Brown doesn't see an issue.

"We played an exciting style and they coexisted just fine," he said Monday. "It always goes down to surrounding cast and style of play and willingness to coexist and the acknowledgment they need each other. They need each other."

Yet, the Sixers entered the 2019-20 season among the league's exclusive group of championship contenders and have rarely played to that level. They own a 37-24 record that's only good for sixth in the Eastern Conference, though there's still room for movement in the regular season's latter stages.

Whether Philadelphia can make a late surge and then make some serious noise in the playoffs will come down to whether they can showcase peak form more consistently.

Simmons called the Sixers "soft" after a blowout loss to the Miami Heat last month.

"The physicality side of things, we gotta step that up. That comes with experience, also just comes with personality," he told reporters. "Don't get bullied. Fight over screens, get through screens. If you gotta knock somebody over, knock 'em over. If you gotta hit somebody in the face and knock 'em down so they don't score, hit 'em in the face."

The 76ers have the talent with their superstar duo joined by Tobias Harris, Josh Richardson, Al Horford and a group of solid role players. But at the end of the season, the team will be judged based solely on their postseason results.

If they don't live up to expectations, the front office will have no choice but to consider shaking up the roster. Whether that would include trading Embiid or Simmons could become one of the summer's top storylines.