Joel Embiid appeared on Tyrese Maxey’s podcast and discussed how he feels about his partnership with Ben Simmons on the 76ers, expressing regret over how it ended and calling Ben ‘the one that got away’.
(Starts at 46:20)
“I’ve always been one of those people that didn’t believe he needed a jumper like he was so good, he’s just a monster…. almost as fast as you. Freaking monster, strong, I never actually believed he needed a jumper. I just believed that, you know, if he could find a way to get his free throws to 75-80% that would have changed everything… I think that’s the perfect match… I think that’s the one that got away. I just hate the fact that the way things happened.”
Embiid and Simmons were supposed to be a championship-winning duo for the Philadelphia 76ers, but several problems with Simmons led to their partnership ending after the 2021 Playoffs with a messy trade saga.
Embiid and Simmons’ relationship was frosty by the end of his tenure, with Embiid even sharing memes taking shots at Simmons after he was traded to the Nets. Simmons ultimately helped the 76ers land James Harden, but knowing how the Harden situation ended, the 76ers can’t necessarily say they upgraded with that deal.
Could Joel Embiid And Ben Simmons Have Made It Work?
At the time when the pair fell out with each other, it genuinely seemed like there was no future for the Embiid and Simmons pairing. The 2021 playoffs left a deep scar on the franchise, even prompting Doc Rivers to publicly admonish Simmons for his performances. Ben’s motivation looked ruined by the time the 76ers lost that series to the Hawks, so the 76ers made the right move by ending that and moving on to Harden.
But in hindsight, there is a way it could have worked out. Simmons was miscast as a non-scoring point guard in Philly. He could have been one of the best frontcourt defenders in the NBA if he played as a power forward, but the 76ers kept trying to run the game through Simmons due to his excellent court vision and ball-handling in a 6’9″ frame.
The emergence of Tyrese Maxey couldn’t have been expected in 2021 when Simmons was traded away, but if the team stood pat with Ben, that would’ve been a lethal trio. Simmons was defending at a DPOY level in his final season with the 76ers and could’ve had a ball-handler like Maxey to control the game while putting Ben in spots where his offensive skill set could be more useful.
We can’t project if Ben’s current injuries would be as bothersome on Philly as they have been on the Nets, with Ben playing just 48 games since joining the franchise in the 2021-22 season.
Philly hasn’t found a defender of Simmons’ caliber since he left and the team hasn’t even had a season where they’ve outdone what the Embiid and Simmons duo achieved, with a Conference Finals appearance still eluding the franchise.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
