October 20, 2021
He just showed up and thought it would be all good.
The past few days will certainly go down as some of the strangest moments in Sixers history – capped off with Simmons’ ousting from practice. People may think Simmons lost it, or maybe Doc Rivers was looking to use any opportunity to send a message. While either may be true, it’s not the root of what’s transpired this past week, nor is it a driving force with anything moving forward.
Everything that the Sixers plan on doing will hinge on Friday night’s home opener. The team will have suitors for months when it comes to Simmons – the asking price for some teams may have dropped, but the market value certainly did not. Time will drop that. Simmons didn’t do anything except move atop the list of “practice” references.
Here’s what did move from Tuesday’s incident. The team is openly fed up with Simmons which now puts added pressure on Daryl Morey to get this deal done. The time is now. I have been and continue to be a believer the Sixers are handling this thing the right way. Simmons and his agency are also doing the only thing collectively bargained to get out of long-term situation.
But the time is now.
Morey has a perfect window this week to dump Simmons for a return of 50 to 60 cents on the dollar. Assuming that perfect Damian Lillard trade hasn’t been there – and won’t be – get the damn deal done this week. Morey has two things working right now: one with him and the other against him.
Up until Tuesday of this week we haven’t heard the coach nor any of his players verbally dress down Simmons. Joel Embiid’s babysitting comment alone is proof enough the players do not want to talk about it. Consider it his way of shutting it down. Embiid also sent a message to the front office that it’s not the players’ job, rather the front office bearing the responsibility to handle this. That’s the added pressure of time hanging over Morey – one we didn’t have until this week.
Nobody – including Simmons – wants this to hang over the team, especially if he’s still here over the next few months. Awkward! So, ship him out right now when his popularity has truly hit rock bottom. From the consistent blaming of fans and location as to why he wants out, to showing up with zero interest, his hatability has never been higher. Nobody would even care at this point if Morey traded him for half of Simmons’ value.
Now is the time.
The team needs to know who will be replacing Simmons and how to effectively utilize those parts. Nobody is just going to walk in and play like they’ve been here, so the earlier the trade is made, the easier the transition. Don’t make this too complicated for player and coach, rather make sure the team still has a legit shot at competing for the east. They need to replace and not simply cut bait with Simmons. No better time than the present. There’s also no way in any world of logic that makes any bit of sense to play him Friday night. So, what are we doing here?
This isn’t a great spot for the Eagles except the line is incredibly short. I’m going to take the bait and roll with the home team -3, despite the books telling me it’s going to be close. The Raiders did something that shouldn’t be overlooked last week, overcame internal drama of losing an idiot – but integral – head coach. The offense needed just one quarter until it pulled away, on the road, against a legit defense. They also can help their QB by opening some holes on the ground, an issue for the Eagles that didn’t go away against the Bucs. There are two big play wide receivers and the league’s second-best tight for Derek Carr to throw the football. This won’t be easy for an Eagles team that’s still without any offensive identity. Take Vegas to cover.
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