PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid knows that the Sixers stand a better chance at winning a title if Ben Simmons suits up for the team.
“Of course, we want him back,” Embiid told FortyEightMintues and other reporters during the Sixers’ media day. “He’s a big piece of what we’ve been doing the past few years.”
Simmons has reportedly told the team that he intends to never play for Philadelphia ever again.
“I really hope he changes his mind,” Embiid said of Simmons. “I do love playing with him because he adds so much to our team. We’ve been building this team around us. I don’t see it as, ‘This is my team.’ I don’t care about any of that.”
Embiid added that players shouldn’t take the trade talk personally, making a claim that if the Warriors offered the Sixers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for him, that Philly should take it.
It’s worth noting that Embiid, who just inked a four-year Super-Max extension, has no desire to leave Philadelphia; he’s simply referring to the business side of the NBA.
“(NBA franchises) are always going to find ways to get better. You can’t be mad at that,” Embiid continued. “You just have to move on and do the best job you can…We get paid a lot of money (to play in the NBA).”
