Outgoing NBPA executive director Michele Roberts blames the Sixers‘ front office for the acrimonious standoff with Ben Simmons, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Roberts addressed the situation in a SiriusXM Radio interview.
“Candidly, I think a lot of this stuff could be resolved if everyone behaved like a grown-up,” she said. “I think what’s happening in Philadelphia frankly is ridiculous and I don’t know why we’re playing chicken with each other. It just strikes that this is something that could be worked out. It’s difficult.”
We have more on the Sixers:
- Speaking of Simmons, the front office continues to ask for a massive haul in return for the disgruntled playmaker, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports. That is a source of frustration for some opposing team executives. It’s believed that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is still hoping Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal will eventually be made available, perhaps this summer.
- Could Sacramento wind up being Simmons’ destination? Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com explores that possibility with the notion that De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are no longer considered untouchable.
- The 76ers went with a jumbo look against the Magic this week and outscored Orlando 11-6 during that four-minute stretch, Derek Bodner of DailySix.com notes. Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid shared the court and limited the Magic to one offensive rebound during that time. However, the Twin Towers combination is not something the team should do very much, due to the issues it would create with the perimeter defense, Bodner opines.
Michele is daft. The only baby is Ben.
Naa, Morey has been handling this like the loser ex boyfriend that a girl dumped but still can’t come to reality with it. Blame is on both sides here, but more so on Morey and Philly.
Did Morey hurt you? You have a lot of anger towards the man. Point on the doll where he touched you.
Ben is clearly the baby in the situation. Athletes get criticized for poor play all the time. You don’t see Westbrick cowering in a corner? No he responded to criticism and continued playing.
Motey will get his due in the playoffs. Net score: another wasted year of having Embiid.
He signed a contract and is not playing even though the sixers publicly said they want him back. This is a pride thing and he just signed a max extension and sixers would get 50 cents on the dollar for him. Ben would likely be more likely to be traded if he was playing and getting his normal 15-8-8 and playing good D, so the player is every bit and more to blame here and getting your feeling hurt isn’t an excuse. In his defense, he’s not publicly crying about not being paid anymore so I will give him that.
No, if he plays and plays well he’s worth a bigger package, and so would have fewer teams interested and end up on a worse team. There’s just no way out now for the Sixers. At this point they’ll be lucky if they get back a decent veteran at all. Kevin Love or something. If Lillard or Beal becomes available a Sixers offer of Simmons would get instantly outbid by half a dozen other teams anyway. Which is exactly what Ben wants. He wants to get traded for pennies on the dollar so his new team is good. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
No guarantee BS would be playing well if he was playing. Unhappiness usually causes a letdown so IDK Y U assume thriving.
Every GM knows what they would be getting regardless; no difference.
Ben had a mental breakdown vs Hawks. Phi should take Love Sexton & Pics & thsnk god hes gone. Or trade for D Fox str8 up in Sac. Simmons jump shot is worst ever. 34% ft line is worst thsn Shaq. In playoffs halfcourt gm he cant play. He worthless bc he cant shoot. And he dont put jn real work. Its sad. Shiws greatness if Lebron. God gave ben all the gifts. But he wont put un real work & surrounded by yes ppl. Hes a liability in playoffs not an asset.
What is 76ers grade on treating Simmons?
A or F?
Big F
Treating Simmons? Haha.
Tell your boss you refuse to show up all year and see if they pay you? I have no sympathy for this guy.
A. Anything less than what they’ve done (holding him to the terms of his deal he willingly signed) is tantamount to letting the inmates run the asylum. He’s been slighted, for sure, but that does not excuse him from flouting his obligations as outlined in his deal.
Wahhhh I signed a 5 year max making over 30 million a year and can’t take criticism. Roberts can shut her big yap. Some team has to take a stance on this s**t or every player will start doing it. Harden did it but Ben isn’t Harden. He can sit until Sixers decide to do what they want.
I really hope we don’t get dame.
He’s just old and asking for so much money.
Dude wants an extension that’ll pay him 50mil a season at 38 or something ridiculous.
If anything the blazers have sucked this year and both him Nurkic, CJ and everyone else on that roster their value has decreased massively
You take Dame. Hes the best chance this roster has to compete for a championship. It’s a catch 22 bc of his age, injuries this year, and sub-dame play. But you can also not extend him and go for broke the next 2.5 years. Deal whatever assets needed to improve the roster enough with Dame and Embiid as the focal points.
Nah I’d pass up on that and take a younger package.
Embiid is only 27 and for two years had now been playing at an MVP level. We have a solid roster and even without Ben and a trade we are a playoff lock and battling for home court advantage.
We don’t need Dame who is old and expensive. He wants to be collecting 50mil in his late thirties and at his current he’ll be playing like Jamal Crawford.
Plus what if Embiid was to go down injured, which isn’t hugely unlikely. It would cripple the team for a decade.
I’d be much happier getting someone young with potential, a decent role player for depth and some picks.
Same is still struggling with his abdominal injury. It lingered all summer and now into the season. Prob going to need surgery in the offseason.
Agreed. Trade for Dame with the understanding you are on a 2-year clock to win a championship. That’s the only goal of every GM: maximize your chances at a ring. Worrying about the eventual rebuild in 2025 is folly.
Disagree, cause the more likely situation is Joel gets injured and your on the hook paying him 40mil when he’s out injured and Dames production falls off and your paying him 50mil a season until he’s 38.
Cant build around that and your stuck until 2028 to even start rebuilding again.
Joel is playing like an MVP, Harris is playing at almost an all star level, Maxey is going to be an all star one day, Thybulle is all defensive. Just keep the young positive movement building.
Similar to the Grizzlies around Ja. A bunch of good young players for the future and some productive role players for now. And when Ja went down injured they continued to play great and that’s what we want if Joel goes out injured.
Raptors example is the Dame example. That’s what this trade equates to.
Ben and his Agent aren’t idiots. They knew only the 76ers could offer a contract in the amount he signed. So the plan all along was to sign it and whine put of Philly. He never intended to stay. Embarrassingly, this behavior is accepted and condoned, and some chuckleheads even support he notion that Ben should be getting pain while not playing.
Getting “pain” indeed! Mental pain I’m sure.
He took the max extension and now isn’t getting paid for one of the years. Not really a max deal anymore. The nba also wants this to drag out to offseason so other players don’t do this.
Moreyon is the problem in Philly. Guy only still has a job in NBA. Cause he got lucky with Harden. My analytics says he Suxx.
The world knew Ben was over in Philly. After the embarrassment of losing to Hawks. He blew his best deal at the draft. This was one of deepest drafts EVER.
Writer is right “a game of chicken”. That’s where analytics takes you. Unreal lols
PHI has shown to be a pathetic franchise in a pathetic city, can’t wait for Ben to find a new team & be happy, I mean there are no words to define how awful PHI has been, no wonder FA’s (I mean star FA’s) have never signed there & the stars they had have always wanted out!
Right. Because it’s the city’s fault the dude didn’t have the balls to shoot in a playoff game. It’s the team’s fault they tried to put pieces around him to help lessen his shortcomings. It’s the fan’s fault he cried and took his ball home. Get real.
If you need to sit at home and blame others for your failures and your shortcomings, then you’ve got more important things to focus on than a game
#FreeBenSimmons
#cryBencry
#ElDonLikesAllOfHisOwnPosts
Morey and Ben are both childish idiots. But they also both signed contracts committing to doing certain jobs, and right now, Simmons is the only one refusing to do his.