76ers Shouldn’t be Intimidated by Ben Simmons & Rich Paul

Three months ago, the 76ers, in front of a stupefied home crowd, retreated to the locker room amid the groaning boos of the Philadelphia faithful.  Fans stood in horror at the sight of an agonizing meltdown the scoreboard reflected after Game 7s loss to Atlanta.

Yet, what followed Philly’s bitter season finale was a reprehensible offense by coach Doc Rivers  at the post-game press conference.  The former NBA point guard was asked if he thought Ben Simmons could be a point guard for a championship team.  

“I don’t know the answer to that right now,” Rivers said.

The damage was done.  Rivers forgot part of his job was to protect his players, as he candidly responded to the media.  Despite how awful Simmons played in the last four games, no one, except for masochists, enjoy getting humiliated by a superior in front of others.

As reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it’s the reason behind Simmons’ strife with the organization.  Simmons, allegedly, will not attend training camp to manipulate the club into shipping him elsewhere.  It’s the only leverage he and his agent Rich Paul think they have, and it seems they’ve outplayed their hand. 

Paul and Simmons are at the blackjack table and think they have an Ace and King.  In reality, they are past 21.  Per the CBA, the 76ers have the right to fine Simmons the equivalent of what he makes in a game, for every day he misses training camp and beyond.  I don’t believe Paul and his client, no matter how handsomely they are paid, are foolish enough to eat a $227,000 fine every game day while they pout their demands.

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Eventually, the charade Simmons and Paul are playing will grow tiresome for their wallets.  #25 will at some point walk through Philly’s doors and rejoin the uncomfortable environment he helped create because of his inability to improve from outside of five feet from the basket on offense. 

Rivers should have never thrown his player under the bus in front of the press.  His fury for Simmons’ incompetence should have stayed between them. Coach, even took the time as a guest of ESPN’s First Take, Tuesday, to extend an olive branch to his lead guard by saying, “we would love to get Ben back.” 

But Philly’s quarterback isn’t blameless.  Opposing teams are mercilessly taking advantage of his limitations and forcing the 76ers to play 4-on-5 when Philly has the ball and Simmons is in the court.  The spacing issues are enough to drive any instructor mad.

It’s a peculiar situation, but the 76ers and Simmons both need each other.  Without him, Philadelphia isn’t competing for anything and wouldn’t receive fair value for their disgruntled “All-Star” on the open market if they wanted to move him.  Accepting a poor deal could set the franchise back years.   

In Simmons’ case, he won’t expedite his wishes of getting traded, remaining absent from team activities.  The only way Simmons will be moved is if he returns and rebuilds his value on the court.  He is on the books for the next four years and owed $147 million.  His impact doesn’t reflect someone who should take up that much salary cap space for a team, and that’s possibly why no suiter will engage with Philadelphia’s steep trade demands.