Joel Embiid Sounds Fed Up With Ben Simmons
By Liam McKeone
As the Ben Simmons trade saga marches on, we the public will continually receive bits of knowledge leaked by both sides to try to garner good faith in the pursuit of positive public perception. The latest tidbit came from Sam Amick at The Athletic, who reported Simmons feels his on-court partnership with Joel Embiid has run its course and there's no way they can get better together.
Embiid was asked about that by reporters today and gave his honest thought that the Sixers have always built around Simmons, trying to make life easier for his difficult skillset. He gave several specific examples and reiterated his opinion that getting rid of Jimmy Butler after the 2018-19 season was a mistake, among other straightforward points.
Joel Embiid, responding to @sam_amick's report: "I feel like our teams have always been built around his needs. So it was kind of surprising to see. I mean the reason we signed Al (Horford) is (Simmons). We got rid of Jimmy (because) he needed the ball in his hands." https://t.co/N5zLNKPxtJ
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) September 30, 2021
Embiid (more): "We've always had shooters, and I feel like i can really play with anybody, and I can make anybody be better on the court...We are a better team with him. There's no question about it. We still hope that he changes his mind."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) September 30, 2021
Embiid (continued): "The situation is weird, disappointing, borderline kinda disrespectful to all the guys that are out here fighting for their lives. Some guys rely on the team to be successful to stay in the league and make money somehow."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) September 30, 2021
Here's a full transcription of his comments.
Joel Embiid, who does note the Sixers are better with Ben Simmons around, says today that report suggesting they're not a fit together is "borderline disrespectful" to other guys on the team in a wide-ranging answer pic.twitter.com/UUeu5xtNAK
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) September 30, 2021
While Embiid remembered to slip in the company line about wanting Simmons back, it sure seems like he's sick of this whole saga. And it's hard to blame him. The Sixers outwardly claim that the All-NBA defender hasn't given them a specific reason for wanting a trade. He wouldn't meet with Embiid to discuss what was wrong. Then Embiid has to deal with the fallout of the leaks from his camp.
This is only the beginning, too. As long as Simmons is fine with the damage to his bank account, he will continue on this path. Philly isn't going to trade him for nothing. If they wanted to just be rid of him and wash themselves clean of the debacle, they presumably would have done so.
Hopefully this means more of Embiid's honest thoughts. It's great content.