The Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid era is officially over in Philadelphia after the 76ers sent Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets in a mega-deal that netted them superstar guard James Harden. The duo grew up together in Philadelphia as they started their NBA careers in the City of Brotherly Love, but things grew tenuous.
Simmons requested a trade in August as he felt the team blamed him for their Game 7 loss in the East semifinals and he did not play in any games for the Sixers after he told the team that he wasn’t mentally ready to play in any games. The mental toll was too much for him to have to go through.
Now that the trade is complete, the new Nets star spoke to the media and he was asked if he has spoken to Embiid since the trade:
No, I did not.
Short and sweet from Ben Simmons on whether he spoke with Joel Embiid after the trade: pic.twitter.com/lKdMYTlIfl
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 15, 2022
As far as Simmons potentially playing in the matchup on March 10 when the Nets play in Philadelphia, Simmons did say that he is hopeful to play. However, he has not set a timeline for his season debut on the 2021-22 season.
“I hope so”
-Ben Simmons says he hopes to play in Philly at Wells Fargo Center March 10
He says being mentally ready is an ongoing process pic.twitter.com/HUPT69JwFs
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 15, 2022
The Simmons and Embiid era won a lot of games in the regular season, but they weren’t able to get it done in the playoffs. At this point, it is now time for Simmons and the Sixers to move on as the team’s new star duo of Harden and Embiid is looking to lead the team to a title.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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