Shannon Sharpe of Fox Sports is one of the sports analysts who believe that Philadelphia 76ers point Ben Simmons is better off leaving the City of Brotherly Love. When they selected him as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Simmons was considered one of the young players who would help the Sixers end their title drought.
However, last season, the Sixers blatantly used him as a scapegoat for their failure to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Shannon Sharpe Says Ben Simmons Won’t Be Coming Back
With the way the Sixers treated him, Sharpe thinks it’s time for Simmons to find his way out of Philadelphia. Since being blamed for their second-round exit, Simmons has distanced himself from the Sixers. The Sixers made efforts to fix the issue with Simmons, but the star point guard looked determined to leave the team.
In a recent appearance on the Undisputed, Sharpe once again hinted at Simmons’ future with the Sixers.
"After what Doc & Embiid said, there’s no way Ben was coming back," Sharpe said, via Twitter.
Which Comments Shannon Sharpe Is Referring To?
Sharpe was talking about the comments Coach Doc Rivers and Sixers center Joel Embiid made after they lost to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After they were upset by the Trae Young-led Hawks, Rivers and Embiid couldn’t hide their frustrations towards Simmons.
In a post-game interview, Rivers said that he doesn’t know if Simmons could be a point guard on a championship team, while Embiid admitted to reporters that what he thought the turning point of the game was when the former No. 1 pick committed a turnover after he passed up on an open shot.
Shannon Sharpe Advises Ben Simmons To Be Better
After everything that happened between him and the Sixers last season, Simmons definitely has every right to demand a trade from Philadelphia. However, cutting ties with the Sixers won’t be enough to fix his career. Sharpe advised Simmons to improve "exponentially" if he wants to be a legitimate superstar in the league.
"But Ben, you have to take a deep look at yourself, too bruh," Sharpe said. "You’ll have to get exponentially better if you want to be a great player."
Sixers Still Trying To Reconcile With Ben Simmons
As of now, most people believe that Simmons’ departure from the City of Brotherly Love is inevitable. However, though he has already informed the Sixers that he has no plan of attending the team’s training camp until he’s traded, Rivers is still hoping that they can convince Simmons to stay in Philadephia.
"I can tell you up front, we would love to get Ben back," Rivers said in an appearance on ESPN’s First Take via Twitter. "And if we can, we’re going to try to do that."
