Ben Simmons will be sticking to his guns. A report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reveals that the Australian has no intention of donning the Philadelphia 76ers ever again. Simmons is well aware of the fines for missing media day, practice, and actual games. Starting in the preseason, Simmons can be fined $227,613 per missed game. But from the looks of it, being fined is the least of his concern. He is bent on leaving Philadelphia once and for all.
This recent news has created some pockets of discussion among fans. There's one side that believes that the 76ers should not have thrown Simmons under the bus after his horrendous playoff performance. Another side believes that it's ultimately Simmons' fault for not doing his job not just as a player, but as the team's star. So who's fault is it anyway?
To recall, right after Simmons' blunder in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, both Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers gave the Australian a subtle ribbing in the press conference. For Embiid the moment he realized that everything was going down the drain was when a teammate of his passed up an open lay-up in the clutch. The Cameroonian was careful with his words and did not drop a single name. Yet it was crystal clear to everyone that he was referring to Ben Simmons. Rivers, for his part, was asked if Simmons could be a guard for a championship team. Rivers claims that he doesn't know the answer to the question.
Fans who are on the side of Simmons believe that the Embiid, Rivers, and pretty much the entire organization should have dealt with the matter internally. Perhaps these fans were thinking of other instances when a player made a horrible blunder but was backed up by his teammate.
In recent memory, it was JR Smith who had an epic blooper in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. To recall, Smith was able to snag the offensive rebound after the George Hill free-throw miss. The game was still knotted at 107 apiece. Instead of calling a timeout or passing it off, Smith dribbled the clock out, believing that they were in the lead. While LeBron was visibly frustrated at Smith, he didn't throw him under the bus. James didn't say bad anything about Smith, nor hinted at kicking him out of the team. James even brought Smith back in the NBA bubble where they won another title together.
Defenders of the Australian probably wanted the 76ers to give him a similar type of treatment. If there was any scolding, it should've been done behind the curtains. This wouldn't have blown into a major issue. And who knows, the 76ers would've moved on quickly from the fiasco if they kept everything mum. Simmons' stock wouldn't have plummeted down to the ground if it didn't get all the media attention.
On the flip side of the coin are the 76ers fans who have been constantly nagging Simmons to develop his jumper. Ben Simmons entered the league without a reliable stroke. Given that he pretty much excelled in most aspects of the game, fans and analysts gave him a pass. Like most NBA stars, they believed that Simmons will continue to add to his bag of tricks.
Yet as the years passed, fans saw the same old Simmons over and over again. Yes, the 76ers were making the playoffs every year, but they were not hoisting up any trophy. 76ers diehards began to cast a furious look at Simmons, who, after all the advice given to him to work on his jumper. Even the late and great Kobe Bryant advised the Australian to add a jumper to his game. The Black Mamba was already impressed by what Simmons was doing on the floor. A jumper would make things even better.
To be fair with Simmons, we've seen numerous workout clips of him knocking down shot after shot. In these scrimmages, Simmons would swish the net with midrange jumpers, 3-pointers, fadeaways, and even step-backs. Simmons seems comfortable with his mechanics, contrary to observations by analysts who feel that he should completely overhaul it.
But for all these impressive workouts, we have yet to see Simmons actually bust it out in a game. And this is the crux of the argument of the anti-Simmons squad. Let's say Simmons wasn't one of the franchise stars of the 76ers. Let's imagine, even for just a few seconds, that he wasn't getting paid some $30 million a year to help his team win. As a player, the basic tenet of your job is to constantly improve your game over time. This doesn't mean locking yourself up in the gym every day and working on what you feel like you should be working on.
Rather it also involves listening to your coach, asking him what particular set of skills does he need to make his playbook work. It also involves a player having a good idea of the current milieu of the sport. Unless you're living under a rock, teams have developed a penchant for the 3-pointer. Even centers need to have a reliable 3-point shot in the bag to be rendered useful.
All in all, Simmons' demise was his own making. He already has that jumper in his arsenal yet for whatever reason, he didn't want to unveil it. Not even a Game 7 of a playoff game couldn't convince him to shoot a wide-open shot. Perhaps the 76ers couldn've handled it differently. Maybe Embiid and Rivers should've panned the questions about the Australian. But you can't blame them for their frustrations. The franchise has been stuck in the Eastern Semis for so long. If only Ben Simmons would've slammed it down.
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