Why the Sixers shouldn’t play Ben Simmons: Locker room Issues
How sacred is a locker room and trust between teammates? Ask the L.A. Lakers version of D’Angelo Russell. Sure, that was more of a personal issue, but an issue nonetheless where teammates seemed to have lost faith in him as someone they could play with. The moment Ben Simmons was tossed from practice last September, things truly went south.
The press conference where Joel Embiid vented about the franchise catering to Simmons’ game and trading away Jimmy Butler had to have been authentic. Embiid’s frustration had bottled up and finally been released in front of cameras just months removed from an embarrassing elimination home loss to the Hawks, mostly because of a pitiful performance by Simmons. For me, this was the end of the duo that Sixers fans had hoped would work.
Joel Embiid: “You can see in practice, the way we move the ball, we talk to each other.”
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) October 19, 2021
Will he have convo with Simmons? “I don't mind, I'm trying to win. You got to have that relationship with your teammates... But at the end of the day, our job is not to babysit somebody…” pic.twitter.com/XyhM6QkyLP
The caveat to this revolves around the announcement at the start of an early season home game where Embiid vocalized support for Simmons. There he was at center court, trying to convince Philly fans to show patience for the crucified Simmons. Or, was Embiid trying to convince himself? Regardless, my belief is that the last straw went out with the recycling bin on a Thursday, and now it is Friday. Time to bring it back to the house and reset everything.
Other Sixers who have come out publicly to show Ben Simmons support include Danny Green, Seth Curry, Matisse Thybulle, and Tobias Harris. All very mature players who probably enjoyed playing with Simmons (I mean, he was a pass-first point guard). Yet, how much of that brotherhood loyalty is true and how much of it could be towing the company line with PR implications to keep Simmons’ trade value afloat? Sure, it is speculative, but not impossible.
What’s at stake? The chemistry of this team, which is on a nice win streak right now, has endured a COVID outbreak, along with the Simmons drama. The 76ers are back toward the top of the conference standings, only separated from first place by 4.5 games. Who is at the top? A Chicago Bulls team that the Sixers beat twice already without Ben Simmons. See where I am going?
If the Sixers front office invites Ben Simmons back to the locker room, it would be like you getting scammed online for money, meeting that person the next week, and then handing them your wallet. You should know better, and so should the Sixers.