Danny Green shares his analysis of 76ers teammate Ben Simmons on his latest podcast episode on ‘Inside the Green Room’.
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Following an early exit from the playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers are in a situation where they can no longer wish their Ben Simmons problem away.
For too long, the 76ers have pandered to Simmons’ demands giving him the superstar treatment in hopes of developing a historical franchise player. But clearly, The Process hasn’t worked and has now come to an abrupt halt.
Ben’s inability or unwillingness to shoot the ball throughout the playoffs, both against the Wizards and the Hawks highlighted the 2018 NBA rookie of the year’ lack of development and might have been the last straw.
The 76ers are at a crossroads, they need to decide whether they further invest in Simmons or look for another capable point guard who can play second fiddle to big man Joel Embiid.
NBA legend and vet Magic Johnson, the very same man who Simmons was compared to following a great rookie year, had this to say about Ben Simmons continuing to play for the 76ers
“It’s time for a change because he (Simmons) can’t recover from this, the locker room won’t recover from this”
A vast majority of analysts and basketball pundits believe it is in Ben’ best interest to take his talents elsewhere, a place where the 24-year-old can have a fresh start as he returns for his 5th season in the NBA.
Danny Green gives his opinion of Simmons from a teammates perspective
3 time Champion Danny Green who just got done playing for the 76ers recently took to his podcast Inside the Green Room to talk about Simmons and the controversy surrounding his performance this year.
“You can tell Ben’s the type of kid if he’s not encouraged; if he’s not pushed or forced to do it, he’s not the type to take that risk.”
Green believes that while there are certain things Simmons is excellent at, it seems he is mentally unable to step outside the box unless encouraged or forced to do. He was also quick to point out how the free throw problem Ben faced heavily weighed on the 24-year-old and further stifled his offensive capabilities.
Simmons certainly seemed to have developed a genuine fear of shooting the basketball which made him a liability one that’ the Hawks capitalized on.
“At the same time, he still fought, he showed up, he still played, he still worked hard, he still tried to give us his best chance for us to win by doing what he does with screening, rolling, rebounding, defending, and he did to the highest capability could. Just offensively he wasn’t the Ben Simmons we needed him to be at the time.”
As of now, it is clear what Simmons needs to work on. What remains to be seen is whether Ben will be given another opportunity to serve the city of Philadelphia or traded to another franchise rendering the 76ers 4 year investment a complete failure.
