The Philadelphia 76ers had a disastrous last couple of months.
They were the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but were upset in the second-round.
Then, an issue with one of their stars has been dragging all the way up until now.
Ben Simmons is a young star in this league that has numerous accolades in such a quick fashion.
However, he has regressed tremendously and overstayed his welcome in Philadelphia.
The 76ers were trying the entire summer to find a proper trade package for Simmons.
None materialized.
Simmons knows how they feel and has requested a trade.
In fact, he is willing to not show up for training camp.
The 76ers met with Ben Simmons in mid-August and told him they couldn’t find a deal for him in hopes of setting aside their differences. But Ben Simmons wasn’t having it and told them he wanted out and wouldn’t show up to training camp. (Per @TimBontemps / @BobbyMarks42 ) pic.twitter.com/9LDQsP7MyV
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) September 9, 2021
Both sides seem far apart.
However, there is a world where they can work things out and contend for a title together.
Apologize to Simmons
After game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks concluded, the world could only talk about one thing; Ben Simmons.
He looked scared out there and passed up a wide open dunk.
Joel Embiid voiced his frustrations on and off the court.
Doc Rivers practically admitted that Simmons is not a championship caliber point guard.
That is something that Simmons has not forgotten.
He is still furious with Rivers and wants an apology from him.
"There are teams that are interested in Ben Simmons, they just don't want to pay the steep price. Ben Simmons know that, so they are saying why should we help the 76ers out, when they feel like when Doc Rivers said what he said, nobody apologized, and Doc was never reprimanded."
— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) September 6, 2021
Simmons did play horribly, but Rivers threw him under the bus in a fashion we haven’t seen in quite some time.
He was hurt by it and the 76ers never fixed the situation.
Simmons does have a right to be mad at Rivers.
He is the head coach, but did not stick up for his guy.
The first step to work things out is for Rivers to actually speak to Simmons and apologize for those post-game comments.
Simmons Needs to Try and Get Better
Simmons is one of the best defensive players in the league.
However, his effort comes into question a lot.
Why is that?
The reasoning behind that is his lack of drive on offense or simply getting better.
Simmons has been in the league for five seasons and still is afraid to shoot an easy jump shot.
He looks at the rim with a confused stare.
Sometimes he looks petrified to shoot.
If he was able to be vulnerable with his issues, then maybe the 76ers could understand.
Instead, he seems as if he does not care about getting better.
“One of the messages Ben [Simmons] has sent back to towards Philly is that it’s not his job to fix his trade value…”
-ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the Jump regarding Ben Simmons and the Sixers pic.twitter.com/6Y0d4YbBcX
— Marc Farzetta (@MarcFarzetta) September 8, 2021
That is where the disconnect comes from.
It is not poor play.
The issue is the lackadaisical approach to getting better he shows.
We see multiple videos each summer of him shooting and we are then promised that this season is going to be different.
Nothing has ever changed.
It might have gotten worse.
Simmons needs to be transparent with his issues, or just work on his game.
When the season starts he just needs to shoot and let all those insecurities go.
That is how they work past their problems with one another.
It is a two-way street.
Both parties need to mend the relationship in order for there to be success this upcoming season.
NEXT: Joel Embiid Stuck In Awkward Situation With Ben Simmons
