Danny Green discusses Sixers star Ben Simmons, plans to talk soon
Ever since the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs on June 20 when they fell at home in Game 7 of Round 2 to the Atlanta Hawks, the talk surrounding the team has been the shortcomings of Ben Simmons.
After another underwhelming postseason performance, the Sixers did begin to take trade calls on the 25-year old 3-time All-Star. Their asking price is high, but it appears that the trade rumors have affected Simmons in a way as reports have come out that he is not speaking to anybody within the organization and he is willing to sit out training camp until a deal gets done.
As the 2021-22 version of the Sixers begins to take shape, there is still the obvious question regarding Simmons’ status. Veteran Danny Green plans to reach out to his embattled teammate after his upcoming wedding.
“Last time I spoke to Ben was probably around the Fourth of July weekend,” Green revealed. “I try to give him his space. I know a lot of people, the media, a lot of people talking about him. Ben’s not a text type of guy so I sent a text to him, he’ll respond a little bit later or randomly, but he’s more of a FaceTime type of guy. I haven’t been able to FaceTime him. I have a lot going on with the wedding, so there’s a lot going on on my end as well.”
The conversation around the Fourth of July was just to check up on him and see how he is doing.
“I had free agency and the wedding,” Green explained. “I didn’t know where I was gonna be at…I will FaceTime him in the near coming weeks after this wedding is over. I’ll be out in LA at my house out there, check up on him. We’ve talked briefly. Just to check and see how he was. See how things were going Happy Fourth of July, enjoy your family, that type of thing so it was nothing deep in that conversation.”
With Simmons’ personality and the way he handles things in consideration, Green wanted to make sure the 25-year old had his space to decompress after a lot of criticism about his performance.
“I think with Ben, his personality, I think it was the right move to give some space early on,” Green explained. “Let him just breathe a little bit, just digest what’s going on and what’s happening around him and hopefully have him refreshed, get a new frame of mind, and then have a conversation later on. He’s had that time now. He’s gonna relax. There’s so many things going on where the media is not thinking about just him anymore or his wrongs, his mishaps, or his flaws.”
It was obvious that Simmons was not in the right frame of mind in the playoffs. His issues at the foul line definitely seemed like they had an effect on him and his struggles and it seeped into other parts of his game. Now, he can continue to grow as a player and he can continue to get his mind right for the upcoming season.
“Give him time to heal,” the veteran out of North Carolina added. “It’s not about him physically, it’s more mentally and emotionally to where he can refresh himself, reset come in, and re-identify himself, and I hope to have that conversation.”
Even if Simmons is to be traded, Green–who has been traded multiple times in his career–has some advice for Simmons.
“I usually have advice for people that get traded,” Green said. “We all hate to move as adults, regardless, but people look at it as a bad thing, being traded. I think we have to look at the positive. Another team wants you and it’s an opportunity for you to kind of reinvent yourself or re-identify yourself. That’s maybe why you hear the rumors of him wanting to go somewhere else or the team want to move, maybe he felt like he couldn’t re-identify himself here, he could do it better in another city.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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