Ben Simmons To Be ‘Challenged’ If He Remains With 76ers

The 76ers will finally have some clarity on the status of Ben Simmons one way or another on Thursday’s deadline.

Ben Simmons has been a constant talking point this season after he refused to turn up to training camp. 

Superstar Joel Embiid says Simmons will be welcomed back into the fold should he ultimately remain in Philadelphia. 

However, the tone of his comments betray his feelings towards his controversial teammate.

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“Like I’ve been saying since the season started, I’m happy,” Embiid said. “Whoever wants to play is welcome. If someone wants to play, they’re welcome. But we’ve got guys here that want to be here, that show up every single night.

“Like I said … I don’t know what other type of word I can use, but I get paid to bring results and win games. I don’t get paid to, you know, babysit Tyrese (Maxey). I’m paid to challenge him to try to help me win games. I get paid to, you know, do the same thing to Tobias and all the other guys and they respond to it, every single time. And just like the same way they challenge me, they know that it is never personal. I always go at them, and they always come back at me, because we all got the same goal: we want to win.”

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“But anybody is welcome to play. And if you want to be part of us, I am sure everybody is gonna be fine with it, but you got to show up. You got to want to be there. And I’m sure everybody is going to accept whoever that is. But, you know, to answer your question, I’m just worried about the guys that are here, and for the guys that are here, and if you’re here, I’m going to challenge you and we’re going to challenge each other to be better and try to win a championship.”