“You’re wasting Joel Embiid’s career” – Shannon Sharpe critical of Daryl Morey for not trading Ben Simmons, says it’s matter of pride
The future of Philadelphia 76ers guard simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Ben Simmons continues to be up in the air as there is still no movement regarding his trade or his return to the 76ers.
On Fox Sports' morning show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," former NFL star Shannon Sharpe said the ego of the 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morrey is coming into play. Sharpe said:
"This is now a matter of pride. Daryl Morey basically wants to say that if he is not going to play for us, he is not going to play for anybody. But what you're doing by doing this, is wasting another one of Joel Embiid's season."
Sharpe said Embiid is being wasted because of the lack of movement regarding Simmons. Sharpe said:
"You're wasting Joel Embiid's career. You're not gonna get the value that you want for the simple fact that everybody knows you got to trade Ben Simmons. They know he doesn't no longer want to be there."
Will Ben Simmons ever play for the Sixers again?
"I don't think he will. When we talked about this after Doc and Embiid said what they said, it was over. This is now a matter of pride, Daryl Morey is wasting another year of Embiid by not trading Simmons."
— @ShannonSharpe https://t.co/RpVo2xbypg
How far can Joel Embiid take the 76ers without Ben Simmons?
Ben Simmons could improve almost every team in the league right now. That's how good he is and there is a reason why he is dubbed the second coming of LeBron James if he can develop a jumpshot. However, with the way things are looking, the 76ers (23-17) will have to carry on without the guard's services.
Joel Embiid averages 27.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 48.2%, including 38.3% from beyond the arc. He is having an MVP-caliber season. The only reason why he isn't being mentioned among the MVP frontrunners is because of the team's record, which was at .500 (16-16) before Christmas.
Joel Embiid last 5 games:
33.6 PPG
10.6 RPG
12.0 FTA
56/44/87%
Unstoppable. https://t.co/SevlTQpyCM
Health has and continues to be an issue for Embiid as the big man has a history of picking up injuries that require him to be sidelined for an extensive period of time. He has missed 11 games this season, and Philadelphia lost eight of them, underlying his importance to the team and their success.
However, he hasn't been brittle this season. Nine of those absences came after he tested positive for COVID-19 in November, with the Sixers going 2-7.
Philadelphia's Tobias Harris has also been mentioned in trade conversations with Ben Simmons as he is another player who is being paid big bucks but is doing little. The 76ers are ranked 11th for offensive rating and 13th for defensive rating and are ranked 12th in the league in terms of three-point shooting.
While the 76ers have the capability to be a factor in the East, their chances of winning the championship are slim to none without Simmons. Even with Simmons, there is no guarantee they will be able to win the title. So the best decision for Embiid and Philly is to trade Simmons to try to acquire enough pieces in return.