Although some of the hype surrounding the blockbuster trade that sent Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets and James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers has died down for some, it is still one of the most interesting stories in the NBA this season. Sixers star Joel Embiid sat down with Chris Mannix of “Sports Illustrated” to discuss his feelings on Simmons’ exit from Philly for the first time since the trade went down.
“I read everything, I was pissed off. There were so many times that I thought I’d really lose it,” Embiid said per “Sports Illustrated”.
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Embiid Wanted To Compete for Title With Simmons
The friction between Simmons and the Sixers may have started after a Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 playoffs. Simmons passed up a wide-open layup on a pivotal possession in the 4th quarter which ultimately decided the game. In the postgame interview, Embiid seemed to call Simmons out when asked about the turning point of that game, replying, “We had an open shot and we made one free throw.”
“I’ll be honest, I thought the turning point was when we—I don’t know how to say it—but I thought the turning point was just we had an open shot and we made one free throw.”
– Joel Embiid on the start of the turning point in Game 7
Yet even with all of the tension between Simmons and the Sixers, Embiid still hoped that his former co-star would return to the team, and the Sixers could focus on a bigger goal: winning a title.
“I’m trying to win a championship. Whatever gets me the best chance to win a championship, that’s what I’m going to do. We needed to help him as much as possible,” Embiid continued.
“If he comes back, we got to take him back and try to go win a championship. If he still wants to get traded, we got to do whatever is necessary to make sure that we don’t go and trade for, I don’t know, a first-round pick, or a second-round pick, or whatever, because what does that do for me? I’m not going to be able to work with a bunch of first-round picks or second-round picks. So, to me, I always looked at the bigger picture.”
Embiid also says that since the blockbuster trade went down he and Simmons have not spoken. However, the Sixers’ star is hopeful that one day the two can get together and talk about the ordeal.
“I don’t have any hard feelings,” Embiid continued. “I don’t have any hate toward him. I wouldn’t mind being friends. That’s just me. I don’t care. Honestly. I respect the decision he made. I think it’s unfortunate what happened, but to me, it’s whatever.”
Kevin Durant Sounds off on His Latest Hot Performance
The Nets narrowly escaped with a 114-110 victory in their last game against the Detroit Pistons. Brooklyn trailed for much of the contest, but a 41 point performance on a sizzling 14-23 shooting from Kevin Durant ultimately propelled them to victory. The Nets star sounded off about his performance after the win.
“I know that demoralizes some teams when you make shots over good defense; that calms our team down as well when we’re making those shots,” Durant said per NetsDaily. “I want to get better shots sometimes — I felt like a couple of them was just like, ‘I’m hot, let me risk it.’ Getting the best shot I can, sometimes that may be over a guy in the lane, but I feel like that’s open so I gotta keep knocking down.”
The Nets are still trying to solidify their spot in this year’s playoffs as the end of the season nears closer. They will likely need more big performances from Durant down the stretch to reach their goal.
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Sixers Joel Embiid ‘Pissed off’ at How Ben Simmons Trade Was Handled