Getty Image / Mike Stobe
Ben Simmons hasn’t been the Philadelphia 76ers‘ problem for more than a year now.
However, it seems that hasn’t stopped him from being a popular topic of conversation in Philly.
Today, 76ers forward Georges Niang appeared on Sixerdaily.
During his appearance, Niang was asked about the difference between this season and last season for the 6ers.
Niang quickly brought up Ben Simmons in his answer, saying that Simmons handicapped them last year.
Georges Niang says he has ‘a lot’ to say about Ben Simmons
“Ben Simmons kinda handicapped us”
(Via @975JKShow | h/t @sixerdaily )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 24, 2023
It’s a bold move for a guy who has never average more than 22.8 minutes per game in a season to be the one criticizing Ben Simmons.
Still, he’s not wrong.
The Ben Simmons situation was a big issue for the Philadelphia 76ers last season. The 6ers’ roster was built around Simmons and Joel Embiid, but Embiid was left to try to win by himself for much of last year.
Luckily for the 76ers, there was another team in their division who had a point guard that couldn’t be counted on to play regularly, so they were able to land James Harden at the trade deadline and ship Simmons to Brooklyn.
Things are going a whole lot better for the 6ers with Harden on the roster and Tyrese Maxey becoming a dependable scorer. They are currently 5 games better than they were at this point last season and are only 3 games behind the Boston Celtics for 1st place in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Nets are having trouble figuring out who they can put on the court with Simmons.
The Simmons situation was far from ideal for the 76ers last season, but their deal to get rid of him sure seems to be working out for them right now.