Joel embiid denied an alleged “breakup” with his 76ers teammate, Ben simmons, and said Wednesday in a series of tweets that he loves to play with the embattled star in Philadelphia.
“Stop using my name to push people’s agendas”, Embiid tweeted. “I love and hate drama. I love playing with Ben. The stats don’t lie. He’s an amazing player and we didn’t all get the job done. It’s up to me personally. I hope everyone is back because we know we’re good enough to win.” .
Embiid was responding to a tweet highlighting a USA Today report that said the “gap” between him and Simmons “had been increasing” and that the 76ers preferred Embiid.
In his tweets, Embiid also appeared to challenge 76ers fans and their treatment of Simmons, likening it to his own development in the NBA.
I haven’t forgotten but 2 years ago, I got booed, people in Philly wanted me to be traded. I even shushed them. Only the real ones didn’t but I just put the work in that offseason to be better cuz I knew I wasn’t playing up to my potential. Philly fans, y’all also gotta be better
– Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) September 1, 2021
For clarity, I love the criticism, I love when I’m told I can’t do something. It makes me work harder to prove everyone wrong but not everyone is built like that.
– Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) September 1, 2021
Sources previously told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Simmons has sought a trade from Philadelphia and that Simmons’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, and Sixers management met earlier this summer to discuss the future of the All-Star with the franchise.
Simmons decided not to play in the Olympics for Australia to continue developing his skills.
The 24-year-old struggled at the free throw line in the NBA playoffs, going from a 60% free throw shooter in the regular season to 34.2% in the playoffs. He also did not attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter in Games 4-7 of the 76ers’ series against the Atlanta Hawks, with Philadelphia falling out in seven games. Simmons scored 19 points overall in the last three games of the series.
Simmons has four years and $ 147 million remaining on his contract.
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