On the most recent episode of Inside the Green Room with Danny Green and Harrison Sanford, Ben Simmons randomly popped up as the topic of conversation. (Lol). 

The two talked about the Ben Simmons saga and the trade rumors heating up surrounding him now that we are past the December 15th date and more players have become available via trade. 

Here are some quotes from the podcast. 

“Well the original approach was to try to get him to buy in. We saw him as a brother and as family and wanted him to still be a part of the team, and (say that we) feel like we have a really good chance of winning with him. That was the first approach, like ‘why do you want to be traded?’

And if he came to us that way and we tried to do everything we could to change his mind, but he still didn’t change his mind, then as family, as brothers, as friends, we would be like ‘we’re gonna find you the best scenario, where you can succeed, and it makes sense for both parties.’”

“Obviously those things never happened. Those conversations never happened. So these are all what ifs. But if that happened and we could find him a situation, we would look for something in return that can replicate what he brings to the floor and this team, which is really hard to find. He’s special. He’s a unicorn. He’s a very special player.

People get on him and rag him and say ‘he was this, and this, and this,’ and (talk about) how bad he is. He’s a very good player and hard to replicate. There aren’t a lot of players in this league that can do what he does. That’s a tough situation and tough scenario and that’s why the higher ups have their hands full, and have hard decisions to make. It’s hard to find someone to replace him.”  – Danny Green

Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers held the mindset that Ben Simmons could be convinced to stay in Philadelphia. Which probably explains why no additional help or moves were made in the months leading up to this season. I think everyone is well aware of that by now. 

Danny Green continues to say those conversations never happened. This is somewhat interesting given the fact that there were reports Ben Simmons met with the team ahead of their home opener against the Brooklyn Nets, and accepted responsibility for his actions. Alongside that, Simmons said he would rejoin the team when he was ready mentally. 

It appears that was all bullshit. Danny Green goes on to say that Ben Simmons is a “unicorn” and it’s very hard to replace him and that people who rag on Ben Simmons don’t understand how important of a player he is. 

That part, is where Danny Green lost me. Does he realize that no one is saying Ben Simmons is a bad basketball player? We rag on him because he refuses to shoot the basketball. We rag on him because of his mindset and the fact that he is refusing to play basketball. 

Obviously Ben Simmons is an important basketball player to this team. Just look at the 76ers without Simmons on the court. They are an absolute mess and everything is falling on Joel Embiid to make this team even watchable on a nightly basis. There’s a chance a trade could occur sometime soon with the December 15th limitation lifted, but nothing seems imminent.

Mandatory Credit: Audacy