Danny Green calls out Ben Simmons on podcast
Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets are going to be tied to the Sixers for at least the remainder of the season. The drama will continue to heat up over the next two weeks leading up to the Brooklyn-Philadelphia game at Wells Fargo Center on Mar. 10.
Simmons revealed that he didn’t speak with Joel Embiid after he was traded on Feb. 10 and in a recent interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Embiid echoed that.
But Embiid hasn’t been the only Sixers player to speak out about the Simmons-Sixers saga following the trade. A couple of hours after the 2022 trade deadline, Danny Green recorded an episode of his Inside the Green Room podcast and said that while Simmons ultimately got what he wanted, “he lost this battle.”
On Wednesday, another episode of Green’s podcast was released and he went into depth about Simmons and the two teams’ upcoming matchup.
Interesting notes from Danny Green’s podcast
— Andrew Salciunas (@asalciunas975) February 23, 2022
Ben’s relationship with Curry and Drummond was not “cordial” in Philly
He’d be surprised if Simmons plays in Philly March 10th because he “doesn’t like playing in Philly”
Also doesn’t think Ben would shake hands before or after game
Danny Green doesn’t believe Ben Simmons will play for the Brooklyn Nets on Mar. 10.
Before discussing James Harden’s upcoming debut with Philadelphia, co-host Harrison Sanford mentioned how Simmons “refused” to be Green’s teammate, along with the other Sixers players. He then asked Green if he would shake hands with Simmons (if he plays) in two weeks.
Before answering, Green said that he wanted to break Sanford’s question down. The 13-year-veteran said that it was an “interesting dynamic” of who was traded alongside Simmons. Green went on to say that he hasn’t had a chance to speak with Seth Curry or Andre Drummond but that “they weren’t on the most cordial terms when he [Simmons] was in Philly.”
Green knows firsthand what his current and now former teammates said about Simmons over the past few months. If Curry and Drummond were frustrated with Simmons, it seems like Drummond has at least made amends with Simmons.
Ben Simmons sighting on the Nets bench!
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) February 15, 2022
(via @YESNetwork)pic.twitter.com/kFqt4Mw8aL
Drummond joined the Sixers before the year started so he never got a chance to play alongside Simmons in Philadelphia, while Curry was traded from the Mavericks on the night of the 2020 draft.
Curry was asked about Simmons back in November and he described the situation as “unfortunate.”
According to Simmons, he hopes to be on the court when he, Curry, and Drummond go up against their former team for the first time. However, Green thinks otherwise.
He said, “I’d be highly surprised if he [Simmons] even plays in that game. I don’t know where his health is, mentally or physically. I know that he had other issues. We all know that he does not like to play in Philly.”
Green noted that if Simmons does play, it’ll be a “hectic, playoff-like atmosphere” and that it may be “very rough” for Simmons.
The two-time champion said that he doesn’t hate or dislike Simmons but that for him “it’s whatever.” If Simmons goes up to Green and addresses him, Green said that “he’ll show love.”
Simmons is expected to ramp things up this week. He hasn’t played in a game since June but if he hopes that he’ll be available to play in a couple of weeks, that’s a good sign.
Sixers fans are a tough crowd but Simmons will have a solid support system in place if he does play. We don’t know if he’ll go out of his way to say anything to anyone from Philadelphia but that likely won’t be at the forefront of his mind. Simmons won’t be there to make amends, he’ll be there to win.
