“No, it’s not my responsibility to reach out to Ben Simmons”: Joel Embiid passionately reiterates his desire to be focused on guys committed to the Sixers

Joel Embiid claims that he will not be reaching out to Ben Simmons to re-join the Philadelphia 76ers as it’s not his responsibility. 

The Ben Simmons saga continues to become more and more convoluted as the days go by. Simmons remains strong in his desire to be traded away from the Philadelphia 76ers but according to Daryl Morey about a week ago, the chances of the DPOY candidate being dealt before the Feb 10th deadline are slim. 

Two teams who the Sixers were in talks with at some point during the season for a Ben Simmons trade were the Portland Trailblazers and the Sacramento Kings. Given the fact that the Blazers cleaned house and are focused on rebuilding around Damian Lillard, seems as though the window to go after Simmons has shut for them.

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The Sacramento Kings are of a similar sentiment as they just carried out a blockbuster three player deal that shockingly sent Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis. Prior to this trade even taking place, it was reported that the Sixers and Kings had ended trade talks. 

Joel Embiid gives his take on reaching out to Ben Simmons. 

Kyle Neubeck asked Joel Embiid whether he felt a sense of responsibility in reaching out to Ben Simmons to re-join the team if he wasn’t traded at the deadline. Embiid gave quite the long, diplomatic answer but eventually said he does not feel such a responsibility and is solely focused on guys in the locker room currently.

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Embiid spoke about Simmons a couple days ago and expressed his disappointment with the fact that Ben was offended with the way Embiid spoke about him following the Game 7 loss against the Hawks when in reality he called himself and Matisse Thybulle out as well. 

Ben Simmons has already racked up nearly $20 million in fines for not participating in regular season games and stands to lose another $11 million or so he continues to sit out. It’ll be interesting to see if losing nearly $30 million is enough to get him back out on the court.