If you're talking about Simmons' performance, yea, I agree with you. If you're talking about the need for the Sixers to move on from Simmons, I agree as well but it's not like Morey and the Sixers didn't try to at least make it work. They brought in Green and Curry to supplement Simmons' lack of scoring in the starting lineup.
The issue is that the Sixers were shopping Ben. They let him know it. Morey is included in this. They told him he was traded and the the trade didnt go through. At that point Simmons knows youre not fully bought in with him. Morey did this with Gordon to a lesser degree and Gordon hasnt been the same since. At that point you find a trade. Morey did not. These little problems from Ben not being traded kept happening throughout the season. Simmons "wasnt having fun" as Gordon would say. This then continued into the playoffs and teammates were complaining about Ben before all of the current media coverage over his non layup/dunk. After the non dunk/layup his entire team threw him under the bus. He had a bad series but Embiid played soft and Doc got outcoached so it wasnt all on him. The fans burned his jersey and everyone let it be known Ben was no longer welcome there. Ben saw this as confirmation of what he already knew. He then requested a trade and everyone said he is being a diva eventhough those same people every week are in the news talking trash about him. In fact Embiid still is just this morning and last week even after Ben came back, Embidd still talking ****. Thybuille the other guy who was on the trading block with Ben for Harden is the only one on the team that defended him. So now his trade value is in the crapper and Morey who didnt like his trade value earlier this year, likes it even less now. His ego simply wont let him admit you dont get equal value in a trade with a star. So the Sixers are now distracted. They could get solid role players play well and entice others to join them. Morey doesnt want to do that. He just wants to try to bully a team to give him what Simmons isnt worth, meanwhile the team is suffering. The entire team is at fault and Morey is the ring leader. Embiid, Rivers, and Morey are three guys with huge egos that are terrible to have on one team and we're seeing the results.
Well for starters: 1. Embiid played that Atlanta series with a torn meniscus. The dude literally had one good leg and was still able to carry the scoring load for the team. So I don't know if the word "soft" is the right word to use in this instance. 2. Doc always get outcoached so you won't get any pushback from me on that front and I agree this is not ALL on Simmons, however, most of it is on him the moment he signed that max contract extension. Once you accept that extension, you're not only accepting the money but also the burden/expectation/pressure that comes with it. You either respond by taking your game to the next level like most do or you, for whatever reason, remain the same exact player you've been since you entered the league. If we're not to expect a player making max money to be able to elevate his game (especially when it matters the most)...then what should we be expecting? Like you said, this started way before the playoffs but it started the moment Simmons made up his mind that he was just content on being the same NBA player he's been since he was a rookie. The organization, the owner, Elton Brand, Bryan Colangelo, Brett Brown, Philly fans, Ben's teammates over the years...all of them have defended Simmons up until it reached the boiling point versus Atlanta. It's not like the fans in Philly all of a sudden had a change of heart after one disastrous playoff series. It's been building up for the past few years, only that instead of letting it slide for one more season, they were rightfully pissed at Ben for not even attempting a simple layup. Even Doc defended and praised Simmons throughout the regular season, even after the Harden trade debacle. If anything, the Sixers organization were at fault for babying him for so long. In the end, players get shopped all the damn time. Players get put into the rumor mill 24/7. If the Sixers (Morey, Rivers, Embiid, etc.) were too stupid to realize how mentally soft Simmons was and how this could have impacted his performance then that's on them. But then it begs the question of: what kind of guy is this if he can't handle being almost traded or be in trade rumors? This guy, making max money because he's supposedly a franchise player, can't take what was ALMOST done and use that as a motivator, as a "F*** You. I'm going to prove to everyone I'm the best player on this team and THEN I'll force you to trade me"...but instead just shrinks?
Your reply ignores all context of my post and bascally just ends with "Simmons is mentally weak" which is where a lot of hate posts about Simmons go. Simmons is behaving like a lot of superstars have in this situation and he is no different than they are. Some have behaved worse. What it boils down to is the team and fans saying "we hate the way you play" and "we want you gone" and Ben saying "ok trade me " That is a logical reaction. The only thing that is not logical is Morey now refusing to trade him. That is where all the drama is coming from now. Bridges have been burned they arent gonna hug and sing songs. If the Sixers didnt throw him under the bus and Embiid wasnt talkig **** all summer it may have been repaired. He did its over, Morey needs to do his job and stop being a baby and trade him. When someone says "I dont want you", saying "OK I want to leave" is not mental weakness. Being scared to trade him is mental weakness though.
both are true, my friend both are true. Simmons does have mentals, that’s for sure. You should work these things through constructively, trying to find a win-win. But you have a mentally weak kid and a GM with low EQ and interpersonal skills and it’s a dumpster fire…
Also dont be fooled Embiid is weak as ****. Joel Embiid is one of the weakest big "Superstars" Ive ever seen. He falls down every play and is basically a half walking injury. He has the durability of an ice cube in a texas summer.
What was the logical or appropriate reaction when the team and fans were saying "We love you Ben!" "The media is full of haters! You don't need to have a 3 point shot!" "Ben you don't need to score because you can do everything else!" ? Because there were more years of that for Simmons than there were years of ridicule coming from the team or fans. Now am I saying he SHOULDN'T want to be traded? Absolutely not and if I did please point me to that reply. For me, the genesis of the "Ben Simmons is mentally weak" narrative isn't coming from the fact that he wants to be traded; it's coming from the fact that he's not only letting other people dictate the course of his career (Rich Paul, his shooting coach aka his brother, his manager aka his half brother) but also not taking the shots that are obviously there. When you're passing up point blank shots in critical moments you're mentally weak. As for Morey "refusing" to trade him, he's not holding Simmons hostage. Now the rumors of Morey wanting Lillard or Beal or a player of that caliber is straight laughable because Morey should know better than that. That being said, he's not going to give Simmons up for peanuts because, warts and all, Simmons is still an All-Star and a very good defensive player. I thought he missed the boat when he turned down Brogdon, LeVert and picks because Brogdon brings a lot of what Simmons has (ball handling, running the point, stellar defense) but in a smaller package. LeVert was probably the wild card for Morey because of his current injury scare. However, if 29 other teams are offering you trades like "John Wall for Simmons" would you pull that trade if you were Morey? Because I'm sure he's getting shittier offers by the day but that's not in his control. Simmons value took a dive after that Game 7 but it's been crappier since then due to how Rich Paul and Simmons have handled the offseason and, now, the eve of opening night. If they would have reported to training camp, went through the motions, played a few minutes in preseason, his value might not be a rock bottom right now. And don't think that couldn't have happened because we just witnessed an out of shape James Harden being disengaged throughout the offseason as well as the regular season up until he got traded. So being a shitty teammate WHILE participating CAN happen. It's when you start sitting out of practice, preseason games, and now regular games that games around the league are like "Okay this kid and his team got issues beyond just offense. If we're going to trade for him, it's gotta be at like .25 cents on the dollar". So you're defending a player that can't be bothered to score more than 5 points in a Game 7 but want to criticize a player that suited up with a torn meniscus and put up 31/11 in the same game? Are we really going down this rabbit hole?
Once again deflecting and ignoring context. The context of me saying Ben isnt mentally weak was for wanting out. Ben wanting out IS THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION HERE. You know that so dont pretend like I was defending him not making that layup. I said he had a bad series. The original context was blaming Ben for the situation and you've since now agreed that he should want out. Thats what we are talking about. Also Morey is holding him hostage which is why we are even having this conversation because I said its his fault for not trading him sooner. He can trade him anytime but has said he wont unless he gets a star in return THAT WONT HAPPEN HE KNOWS IT AND HE IS CAUSING THE SITUATION TO CONTINUE. Please stick to the context.
Harden fell down all the time taking those step backs but I never saw any criticisms when he used that move to lead the league in scoring so I don't know... maybe there's a stat that proves that falling down a lot is a negative.
Harden is a an sg and is tough as **** in the post and hard to move in the post, He 's one of the best post defenders in the league. Embiid falls down at the slightest touch he's soft as charmin. You can score a lot of points and be soft see Steph Curry the only difference is Steph isnt guarding the post. You clearly dont watch the Sixers much.
Embiid falls a lot probably trying to avoid injury but it just messes up Sixers defense in the paint. He is also an epic level flopper.
I'll reply to your other comment in a bit because this one is easier to respond to. 1. I never said Embiid didn't fall down. I'm just perplexed at how this is even some kind of mark against Embiid as a player because the guy was literally carrying the Sixers all season and in the playoffs. Do you know why he falls down a lot? https://nba.nbcsports.com/2019/05/10/joel-embiid-falls-down-a-lot-because-his-doctors-told-him-to/ https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26655483/why-world-does-joel-embiid-fall-much It's not because he's "weak as ****" or that he's soft as charmin. If you don't want to believe it and/or think it's BS then we'll just leave it at that. And minutes later you probably did your own homework and found the articles I just referenced and that's cool. As for messing up the Sixers defense...are you seriously saying that Embiid is a detriment to a team that ranked 2nd in defense last year? A team that finished 8th in points in the paint defense? Please tell me this is what you're saying.
Maybe he would more energy to not fall and play better D if his maxed teammate guard would actually shoot the basketball. Gotta take the scoring log and play elite level defense. Sounds exhausting… lol
