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The Philadelphia 76ers are in an undeniably much better place right now than they were a couple of months back. The Sixers were winning games but a huge, Ben Simmons-sized cloud was looming over the entire team as the front office tried to find a way to get rid of their disgruntled star.
This finally happened at the trade deadline with Sixers GM Daryl Morey masterminding a deal with the Nets to send Simmons to Brooklyn in exchange for James Harden. This move has paid dividends for the Sixers with Harden fitting in nicely with superstar big man Joel Embiid. Perhaps equally as important is the fact that they removed a lingering thorn on their side when they finally parted ways with Simmons.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers recently provided some insight as to what life was like during the long-drawn-out Ben Simmons saga. Unsurprisingly, the 76ers shot-caller admitted that team morale had taken a major hit amid all the uncertainty surrounding their want-away star:
“The guys were just over it,” he says. “We were winning games, and, every town we went to, we were talking about Ben. I don’t know if we could have gotten through the second half of the season with that hanging over our heads. I was praying something happened.”
Coach Doc got brutally honest here. He did not specify what he was praying for but if I were to take a wild guess, he was probably hoping that Simmons would just pack up and go. It was clear that reconciliation was out of the question — although knowing Rivers, he likely still had a glimmer of hope that Simmons would have an unlikely change-of-heart — so at that point, Rivers knew that moving on from the former Rookie of the Year was the only logical choice. Given the unsavory state of affairs, Doc hoped for an immediate resolution.
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Embiid was in the same boat. Although he did admit that he too held out hope that Simmons would stay in Philly, Embiid also knew that this was the unlikely scenario. Stories began coming out about how Simmons and Embiid's relationship turned sour. For his part, Doc Rivers had nothing but praise for the usually outspoken Sixers big man for his ability to handle adversity:
“Joel will say what he thinks sometimes,” Rivers said. “… I can’t imagine the pressure he had individually because he was linked to it the most. He handled it like an absolute pro.”
Throughout the entire ordeal, Embiid kept his eyes on the prize. He knew what was at stake for the Sixers this season and he just was not going to let the outside noise distract them from their objective:
“[Embiid] was hell-bent on making sure our guys knew we were going to win this year,” says Rivers. “If Ben wanted to join us, great. If he didn’t, great. We’re winning. I don’t want to hear that we’re not winning.”
True enough, the Sixers kept winning. They got even better once Harden came into the picture. Right now, this team is looking like a real threat in the Eastern Conference. I can't even imagine how things would have panned out if Philly failed to move Ben Simmons before the deadline. Surely, it wouldn't be absurd to think that they would not be where they are today if Simmons were still in the mix.
