Sixers rumors: Keeping Ben Simmons around is a massive risk

After Ben Simmons wilted in the closing minutes of a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, criticism of the league’s most controversial All-Star reached a fever pitch. Once co-star Joel Embiid and head coach Doc Rivers appeared to criticize Simmons for one particular passive moment — the now-infamous decision to kick the ball to a cutting Matisse Thybulle instead of attempt a wide open dunk late in the fourth quarter — in their post-game interviews, Simmons’s days with the team seemed clearly numbered.

Now, though, a Simmons trade no longer seems like a certainty. As free agency and the draft came and went and the Sixers failed to deal Simmons, murmurs that he might be on the roster at the beginning of the 2021-22 season began to swirl.

Now, according to CBS Sports writer Michael Kaskey-Blomain, the Sixers are ready to tip off 2021 with Simmons still on the team.

Sixers rumors suggest Ben Simmons could start next season in Philadelphia, despite the rocky relationship between player and team.

It should go without saying that this would be an absolutely disastrous scenario for the Sixers.

If they do end up keeping Simmons, it won’t be totally unjustified; in fact, Daryl Morey’s thought process seems pretty clear. Simmons, for all his faults, is a very talented regular season player, and allowing him to showcase his game might allow some of the stigma from last year’s playoff debacle to fade. Then, with Simmons’s value restored, Morey can move him for a better package.

However, while this line of thinking would be logical in a NBA 2K MyLeague, it ignores the seemingly-irreparable damage that has been done to Simmons’s relationship with the organization. As recently as Aug. 5, Bleacher Report writer Jason Dumas reported that Simmons was refusing to even speak with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Simmons clearly wants nothing to do with this team — and, to make matters worse, the relationship between him and Joel Embiid appears fractured as well. Simmons reportedly hasn’t been returning Embiid’s phone calls. The ultimate goal of the front office should be on keeping the best Sixer since Allen Iverson satisfied, especially after signing him to a monster four-year, $196 million contract, and if Simmons refuses to make it work with Embiid he needs to be off the roster as quickly as possible.

All this seems to create one very plausible and scary scenario if the team keeps Simmons around: he attempts some kind of holdout, refuses to show up to training camp, or clearly isn’t giving full effort while on the court. If Simmons is dogging it a la Vince Carter during his final stint in Toronto, it’ll vindicate critics of his mental toughness and — most concerningly for the Sixers front office — drive his trade value even lower.

This is the risk the team runs by keeping Simmons around instead of unloading him as soon as possible. Yes, there’s a world where he plays up his trade value, maybe even as a willing collaborator with the trade search. Maybe Rich Paul and Daryl Morey come to a gentleman’s agreement that, if Simmons plays hard and looks good, Morey will ship Simmons to a choice West Coast destination. But right now, those scenarios feel like pipe dreams.

It feels much more likely that Simmons’s presence with the team is like an anchor, weighing down the entire roster with bad memories from the Hawks series that won’t be erased until he’s gone for good. That environment, and the terribly unhealthy team chemistry Simmons might bring, are massive risks to take for a team that should be in the middle of their championship window.