Joe Mazzulla's elite coaching has shown itself in the best way possible this season through the Boston Celtics' player development. To compensate for Jayson Tatum's absence, the entire roster stepped up, not only showing how good a coach he is but also that the Celtics' individual players had greater potential than everyone thought.
You know who probably could have benefited from this? Ben Simmons.
Boston wanted Ben Simmons this past summer, and all indications are that he only passed because... they wanted to win?
Make whatever conclusion you want from that, but Boston's interest in Simmons was defensible because he had all the makings of a golden reclamation project. His All-Star days are long gone, but his physique, passing abilities, defense, and rebounding would have a made him a prime candidate for a resurgence under Mazzulla's tutelage.
Mazzulla has brought the most out of the likes of players who fans would have least suspected to break out, like Luka Garza and Jordan Walsh. Celtics fans had little to no expectations from players like them.
Simmons would have had expectations if he joined Boston, but only enough to arouse cautious optimism. Prime Simmons may have been gone, but that didn't necessarily mean he was no longer useful.
What makes Simmons' decision even more baffling
Simmons passed on the chance to join the team that could have restored some of his value, but he also passed on a team that would have provided him enough touches to assert himself with Tatum's extended absence.
There's no telling if the former No. 1 pick would have been the same once Tatum returned, but Boston provided a perfect opportunity for Simmons to prove to fans that there is still plenty of juice left in his game with Tatum absent and not much proven talent on the roster before the season started.
Simmons is entitled to do whatever he wants. Even though he's currently out of the league at the moment, it doesn't sound like he's retiring as much as he is taking a hiatus, which may very well be what's best for him.
It's not like the Celtics suffered all that much from him passing, especially because they've gotten great contributions across the board and there was no guarantee Simmons would have worked out. It just would have made for a fine experiment.
Plus, because he has yet to say that he's truly done with the NBA, who's to say a Simmons-Celtics union is out of the question?