Sixers news: Ben Simmons seems salty over another All-Star snub

LeBron James’ handpicked team for the All-Star game has been hit by an injury four times. Those were four chances of getting inserted in the All-Star game for Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons. Unfortunately, though, he was snubbed in all instances.

LeBron James’ handpicked team for the All-Star game has been hit by an injury four times. New Orleans Pelicans’ DeMarcus Cousins and New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis are both out for the season after an ACL tear, James’ Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, Kevin Love, is out for the next 6-8 weeks, and Washington Wizards' John Wall is nursing a knee injury – also out for more than a month.

Those were four chances of getting inserted in the All-Star game for Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons. Unfortunately, though, he was snubbed in all instances.

The replacements were Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George, Detroit Pistons' Andre Drummond, Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker, and Miami Heat’s Goran Dragic.

Considering production and all, George and Drummond are undeniably worthy of a spot, so there's really not much to argue there. It was the other two that really seemed to irk Simmons. Here's what he told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

.@BenSimmons25 on getting passed over as an #AllStar replacement 3 times: “I don’t really know what an all-star is anymore. I mean if it was about win-lose, you picked Dragic obviously and you pick Kemba, whose team is 7 wins under us. It is what it is, but my stats don’t lie.”

— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 9, 2018

A first-time all-star, Dragic is averaging 17.4 points and 4.8 assists per game on the season. He's among the key men in Miami, and has helped power the team to a 30-26 record. As the seventh seed in the East playoff picture, the Heat are ahead of the 76ers by one spot.

Walker, on the other hand, has very All-Star-like numbers of 23.0 points and 5.8 assists per game. However, his team is only 23-32, 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Ben Simmons has a good case over the two. He has the stats – 16.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 52.9 percent shooting – and he's one of the reasons why the Sixers are a playoff team.

What may have caused the snub is his status in the league, as he is perceived to be a newbie who's still trying to earn his stripes. Dragic has many years of being a go-to man on offense, and has a Most Improved Player plum under his belt, while Walker is a known scorer who is coming off an All-Star season.