Sixers’ Star Slams Ben Simmons: ‘We Got Rid of Jimmy Butler’ for Him

Jimmy Butler so quickly and easily became the franchise star of the Miami Heat after he joined the team in 2019, that it’s easy to forget the turmoil that led him to South Beach in the first place.

In July 2019, Butler headed to the Heat in a four-team trade deal that involved Miami, the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Portland Trailblazers. During his first year in Miami, Butler proceeded to make the All-Star team for the fifth time and lead the Heat to the NBA Finals.

During his second year, Butler had the best campaign of his career during the regular season, averaging 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game. Over the summer, the Heat signed Butler’s best friend, six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry, and he inked a $184 million contract extension.

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Needless to say, Butler is thriving in Miami, and his former teammate, Joel Embiid, while speaking to the media on Thursday, said it “was a mistake” for the Sixers to let him go, especially because the decision was made to appease Ben Simmons.

Simmons has since demanded a trade out of Philadelphia, and refused to show up at Sixers’ training camp. In the meantime, Simmons’ teammates and coaches are left to field questions about his possible return.

While Embiid believes the Sixers are a better team with Simmons and has reached out to him privately, the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up appears to have had it with all the drama.

“Our teams have always been built around his needs,” Embiid said. “So it’s just kind of surprising to see. Even going back to, the reason we signed Al, we got rid of Jimmy, which I still think was a mistake, just to make sure he needed the ball in his hands and that’s the decision they made.”

Embiid finds Simmons’ actions to be “weird, disappointing, and borderline kind of disrespectful to all the guys that are out here fighting for their lives,” he continued. “Some guys rely on the team being successful to stay in the league and make money somehow. Because if you’re on a winning team, you’re always going to have a spot in the league, just because you’re on a winning team and you contributed.”

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Simmons Played a Part in the Butler Leaving the Sixers

While Butler “loved” playing alongside Joel Embiid amid his six-month stint with the Sixers during the 2018-2019 season, The Athletic’s Zach Harper reported in September 2020, he “didn’t view [Simmons] on par with someone like himself or Embiid when it came to mental makeup.”

Butler spoke openly about his frustration with the Sixers franchise on The JJ Redick Podcast in March 2020, saying that he understood why Simmons was unhappy. To play one way the entire year and then switch it up during the playoffs, “I’d be pissed” too, Butler said.

On June 21, Fox Sports’ Yaron Weitzman reported on the rift between Butler and Simmons:

According to league sources, Simmons’ frustration at being relegated to off-ball duty during the team’s 2019 second-round loss to the [Toronto] Raptors contributed to the front office’s decision to not re-sign Jimmy Butler. [former head coach Brett] Brown had handed Butler the keys to the offense, and management was worried how Simmons would handle having Butler around and monopolizing crunch-time playmaking duties for multiple years.

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Butler Said His Time in Philadelphia ‘Didn’t Work the Way We Wanted it to Work’

In February 2020, Butler addressed the reports that he had issues with Embiid and Simmons to Sports Illustrated‘s Andrew Sharp.

“I didn’t have a problem with either one of them,” Butler said. “Still talk to those dudes. I wish them the absolute best. A career of great health, make as much money as you can, win as many championships as you can. I did not have a problem with any of those guys. It just didn’t work the way that we wanted it to work.”

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