After Joel Embiid's latest comments on Ben Simmons, where do Sixers go from here?
Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love, but there appears to be no love lost between Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
With Simmons intent on not playing for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, his absence was a key talking point after practice on Thursday, with Embiid not holding back when discussing Simmons and his fit amongst the team.
Simmons has made it clear that he doesn't believe he can reach his full potential playing alongside Embiid or in Philadelphia, which prompted Embiid to respond when speaking the media, citing how the 76ers have continued to make moves suited towards Simmons' game even if it weren't in the best interest of the team.
"We got rid of Jimmy [Butler], which I still think was a mistake to make sure he [Simmons] needed the ball in his hands," Embiid said. "That's the decision they made."
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The 76ers reached the Eastern Conference semifinals with Jimmy Butler on the roster in 2019, falling in seven games to the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors.
That summer, the 76ers elected to let Butler walk in free agency, signing Al Horford instead. They would go on to lose in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs, while Butler would advance to the NBA Finals as a member of the Miami Heat in the same season.
But for as honest as Embiid was, was it the best thing to say at that moment?
Nick Wright believes these comments from the 76ers best player just make it harder for the team to trade Simmons in the near future, as he explained on "First Things First."
"Joel, you're not wrong," said Wright. "But sometimes you have to choose: Do I want to be right or do I want to be happy? Joel chose to be right and now I think he is going to be a little unhappy."
The 76ers have explored trying to trade Simmons this offseason and have also tried to repair their relationship with the All-Star forward, with Embiid also being open to having Simmons back, which he has stated this offseason.
However, his latest comments won't make the job any easier on the 76ers' front office.
Were Embiid's comments meant to be taken as harsh truths or constructive criticism? Skip Bayless sees them as the latter, which he detailed on "Undisputed."
"He went over the edge yesterday with these comments," said Bayless. "Yet if you frame them with everything that he said, he was actually trying to be constructive here. His bottom line was, 'We are a better team with him, there's no question about that. We still hope that he changes his mind.' You're trying to qualify and then you disqualify everything that you're saying."
Whether the comments were indeed meant to implore Simmons to return is open for interpretation. But one thing is for certain in the eyes of Shannon Sharpe: Embiid is clearly fed up with Simmons' actions from this summer.
"He was mad after Game 7 because he lost," said Sharpe. "And he said how he really felt about Ben Simmons. Joel Embiid has been surpassing this for the longest time."
The Simmons saga is the longest-running soap opera in the NBA currently.
And now, there is another chapter of drama that has been added.
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