Ben Simmons still hasn’t suited up for the Philadelphia 76ers this year, and they are definitely far from the team that made the No. 1 seed last season. While they are still a playoff-caliber team, they are far from a contender.
Doc Rivers has recently commented on Ben Simmons’ absence from the team and claimed that there are “glaring holes” on the team due to him not suiting up to play. It seems as though he recognizes that the team is not the same without the defensive point guard.
…. But we don’t know what any of those factors are. So right now, we are just playing games Trying to win them.”
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) December 20, 2021
We don’t know what we are yet. Ben hasn’t played in a game. You can see the glaring holes that he leaves us. And you know, he may or may not play. If he does, great. If he doesn’t, then whoever we get can help us. …. But we don’t know what any of those factors are. So right now, we are just playing games Trying to win them.”
Things are not all bad for the Philadelphia 76ers. Tyrese Maxey has emerged as a solid point guard in Ben Simmons’ absence, and he is currently averaging 17.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 4.7 APG while shooting 37.1% from beyond the arc. While he is certainly not the No. 2 star behind Joel Embiid, his production has definitely helped the Philadelphia 76ers remain competitive this year.
There have been a lot of teams that have been reported as interested in Ben Simmons previously. At one point some reports suggested that 10 teams have talked to the 76ers trading for Simmons. That would be a third of the league. The problem is that the Philadelphia 76ers want a Damian Lillard or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander level player in a Ben Simmons trade, and it’s unclear whether any team is willing to give their stars up for Simmons. Hopefully, this situation is resolved in the near future and we see Ben Simmons play on the 76ers or elsewhere.
