The Philadelphia 76ers moved on from a tough situation as they moved Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for superstar guard James Harden. The trade ends four years of the Simmons-Joel Embiid duo that had so much potential, but they could never get it done.
The Sixers were a highly successful team with Simmons and Embiid leading the way. The duo was young, they were talented, and they looked like they would have a bright future together to lead the Sixers to success.
However, after everything that transpired after Simmons’ failures in the 2021 playoffs as well as a tumultuous offseason where he requested a trade and did not play a single game for the Sixers again, it was time to move on. Embiid is happy that the saga is finally over.
“I honestly don’t care,” Embiid said of Simmons. “Like I always said, it’s unfortunate how everything happened because you look at the history. Obviously, we didn’t get it done as far as winning in the playoffs, but you look at the history being on the court, what we did in the regular season, we were dominant so it’s unfortunate that winning was not the biggest factor.”
The Sixers were always a high seed during the Simmons and Embiid era as they were even able to earn the No. 1 seed in 2021 before the Round 2 flameout. Even after being just one win away from the Eastern Conference finals, Simmons wanted out as he was upset with Embiid and coach Doc Rivers for comments made after the Game 7 loss.
“It’s unfortunate that, for him, having his own team and I guess being a star was more of his priorities,” Embiid added. “I’ve always thought that everything was great. The fit was great, but unfortunately, Ben thought that it wasn’t, but we all move on.”
The Simmons situation was hanging over the Sixers like a dark cloud. No matter what the team did as far as winning, they had to answer questions about his availability and his status, and whether or not he will return.
Now, all of that is over.
“I’m happy that I’m not gonna be answering any more questions about that subject,” Embiid finished. “It’s good not just for me, but my teammates too, and the whole organization. The whole year, it’s been pretty annoying with the whole situation, but I’m glad everybody has moved on and I wish everybody the best with whatever they want to accomplish. I’m focused n winning games here and trying to win a championship.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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