Yesterday, Charles Barkley joined John Clark on the Take Off to talk Ben Simmons and everything that unfolded yesterday at 76ers practice. As we all know, Ben Simmons refused to participate in team activities ahead of his highly anticipated press conference, which caused him to be thrown out of practice by Doc Rivers. From there, Simmons missed his press conference and was suspended by the 76ers for tonight’s season opener in New Orleans against the Pelicans. 

After practice, we heard from Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid. It was abundantly clear that Joel Embiid was fed up with the Ben Simmons situation and was tired of talking about it with the media. Embiid conducted a legendary press conference and set the world on fire when he said that he “wasn’t here to babysit.” Embiid continued saying that “At this point, I don’t care about that man, honestly. He does whatever he wants.” 

One of the greatest things about Embiid is the fact that he’s able to jump back and forth between saying what he’s supposed to say in press conferences by reiterating team talking points about chemistry, wanting the team to win, and the positive vibes about the 76ers heading into opening night. Then, he adds masterful jabs that fit perfectly into the overall message. 

Charles Barkley spoke about Embiid’s comments and said how much he loved what Embiid had to say. 

“I’m not dealing with this BS all year. I’m the best player here. This is my team. Guys, you all get on my back. And we’re going to kick some ass”

Barkley is 100% correct. It has, and always will be “Trust The Process”. Forget about Ben Simmons. If we know one thing about Joel Embiid, it’s that he loves playing angry when there are grudges to be had. He certainly has one with Ben Simmons. I fully expect Embiid to come out and dominate tonight and start an MVP campaign that the NBA has never seen before. 

Trust The Process, 76ers fans. We’re going to be just fine.