Ben Simmons situation in Philadelphia did not start because of Joel Embiid, in fact, the Philly big man says he had nothing personal against his former teammate.
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It’s been more than a month since Ben Simmons found a new home outside of Philadelphia. The former Sixers guard had everyone in his camp restless since the start of the 2021-22 season, including himself, after he decided that he wouldn’t suit up for Philly anymore until he is traded, citing mental health.
Had they found James Harden‘s trade option before, both the Nets and the Sixers would be better placed and would have a team that had better chemistry before they reached playoffs.
But this trade happened when it happened because of Kyrie Irving’s vaccination stand and Kevin Durant’s injury which made Harden restless about their chances of winning it all.
Overall, it ended well for both teams, only slightly better for the Nets who might have got themselves the better end of the deal. Losing Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks, the 76ers came off way more desperate to offload Ben, than the Nets were to offload James.
“Yeah, I’m happy that I’m not going to be answering any more questions about that subject,” Joel Embiid said after the trade, per ESPN. “It’s good that not just for me, but my teammates, the whole organization. The whole year, it was pretty annoying with the whole situation, but I’m glad that everybody has moved on.”
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid had nothing personal against each other
On his appearance on The Draymond Green Show, Sixers big man opened up about the whole Simmons situation that started at the time Sixers faced elimination at the hands of Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season.
When Green asked Embiid how the media affected the entire scenario, the Cameroonian said media changed the narrative in a certain fashion to show that he held it personal against Ben for passing up a layup opportunity towards the end of regulation in Game 7.
That was one of the plays that resulted in the Sixers losing the game and the series. But Joel explained that in the post-game presser he broke down many plays which led to their loss, including his own turnover and Matisse Thybulle’s plays as well alongside Ben’s missed opportunity. Here is the clip of that presser from a fans exchange on Twitter.
The media just ran away with the Ben part because it made much better news than the complete segment. And that became a narrative that Embiid never wanted it to be.
The 5x All-Star also added that nothing was ever personal from his side and he always believed that their partnership would work, no matter what anyone else said. Joel also cited his habit of calling out his teammates all the time with no ill-intentions and it generally works well for his team.
