[dudo670Participant]

I’m not here to troll I’m just here to pose something. Aside from my disagreement that Simmons’ is a generational talent like many in the basketball community believe (I think he has one generational trait which is his passing but that doesn’t make him a generational talent), Simmons’ recent appearance in the one and done documentary makes me question his attitude.

Tons of players have come before Simmons and disagreed with the system, but not many (at least elite NBA players) spent time to rip it apart. Simmons’ comes off to me that he is a complainer. I’m not here to discuss whether or not the NCAA takes advantage of players because that’s not my point. Whether they do or not, Simmons’ job is to be a basketball player and not a social justice warrior for future players in the one and done system.

I smell a little bit of Michael Beasley in Simmons’ (for different reasons). Even last year at LSU, Simmons’ was more concerned with padding his stats against bad teams than trying to knock off good teams. If he was that good, LSU would’ve coasted to the tournament (even Beasley’s K-State team did).

  I just don’t think Ben Simmons’ cares about winning and when he comes to play for MY Philadelphia 76ers I don’t expect him to come close to the hype of Magic Johnson and Lebron James, nor do I expect to be proven wrong. Luckily we have Embiid, who has the potential to be THE best player in the game 5 years down the road (if healthy). But Simmons’ bad attitude concerns me that he will come into the locker room and be a Terrell Owens — a distraction. 

By the way, I was a proponent of the 76ers trying to trade the pick for a Jimmy Butler or Paul George level player, but no way on earth Gar or Larry Legend would’ve done that. Teams weren’t lining up offers to trade for the first pick because GM’s had the same concerns I do. Not saying I should be a GM, more that I’m not the only one who feels this way.

 

 

 

 

[Hype Machine]

Good post. Write a letter to Colangelo and request a trade due to your many reasonable concerns.

Philly are too good for a complainer like Simmons to drag their successful franchise down. We can stick with non-complainers like Nerlens Noel.

The team deserves better. And so do Philly fans.

Like OP said….If Simmons doesnt play up to Magic or Lebron level…’he’ doesnt belong on ‘my’ team.

 

[dudo670Participant]

 I don’t think the Lebron/Magic comps were ever there and they were unfair to those two players. And you’re missing my point. Simmons’ isn’t dragging the sixers down by complaining he’s dragging down himself. Which I guess yes is dragging down the team. But ok keep telling yourself Simmons is the next Lebron.

[mowestenParticipant]

 I don’t know, I get your point, but sometimes immature kids can be immature. I’m not ready to pile on just yet, and I do think sometimes there is a double standard. At least he didn’t refuse to play for the team like John Elway and Eli Mannining did. Those guys went out and produced, and all was forgiven, and if Simmons does the same his college days and what he did and said at 19 will be forgotten.

The bigger question I have is how competitive is he, does he want to be a great player, or does he just want to go throw the ball around and get on SportsCenter? Is he willing to work on his game, to do the little things that lead to wins?

We’ll see, but I’m not ready to take a definitive stance on that one way or the other just yet.

 

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

I blame austrilian culture. For some reason almost every professional austriallan athlete are some of the biggest complainers or become extremely cheap when things dont go their way. 

[ph90702]

He’s almost as bad as Nick Kyrgios.

[Hype Machine]

True. Our kids need better role model athletes to look up to.

Like Bruce Jenner.

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Aussies always whinge and can be wound up easily – a 140 year odd Cricket rivalry with England is good proof of this.

To be fair to Ben, he is out injured at the moment, I haven’t heard anything about him being an issue with Philly, so lets wait and see.

 

[Hype Machine]

Lol. Pommy geezers are the worst. Stop sending all your ugly women to our shores pls.

[BeastMode716Participant]

 but NBA execs disagree with you. Chris Broussard just sat on the Colin Cowherd show & said every person he talks to who is actually in the NBA believes Simmons is the closest thing to Magic Johnson since Magic

pairing Simmons, who is a high level scorer & rebounder but is clearly a freakishly gifted passer, with Embiid is a perfect partnership b/c Embiid wants to score 50 every time he steps on the court.

You got a 6’10” 250 lb PG w/ a 7’2” 275 lb Center – I just don’t see how anyone stops these guys in 4 or 5 years

And I LOVED his attitude in the Showtime Documentary. The NCAA is a bunch of rich, middle aged, suburban white guys exploiting poor minority kids & then they have a bunch of middle aged white guys in sports broadcasting Attack any kids who don’t go along with it.

It’s against the American Tradition & I Luv that Simmons went off about it. That is Leadership

 

 

 

 

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

 What the hell do you mean its not his job to stand up for future players against the one and done system? Thats exactly what his job is, if big name players dont start speaking against it the system wont ever change. This is such a deluded post

[holefillers1Participant]

 "The Attitude" and "The Process"…Coming to an arena near you in 2017. 

[GronounoursParticipant]

 I think he’s right (although I’m not an expert here). He shouldn’t care: he’s going to make tons of money anyway. He sees something absurd (in his opinion), and he speaks up. What’s wrong with that? Maybe the guy is an d*ck, I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter here.

 

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 In my opinion, Ben Simmons is a spoiled brat.  He was an absolute embarrassment to LSU the one year he was in Baton Rouge.  He obviously had zero interest in going to class.  If he didn’t want to be in school, he could’ve gone and played in Europe or China and gotten paid.  Many talented guys coming out of high school have zero interest in going to school and just want to get paid.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t go to school and then complain about not getting paid and bitching and moaning after you left.  LSU had talent last year and was an absolutely mediocre team.  Guys on his team were talking about how great a teammate he was.  I find it hard to believe he was that great a guy the one year he was there.  Guys need to stop thinking it is their "right" to enter the draft straight out of high school in my opinion.  While Ben Simmons is an immensely talented basketball player, I believe he is a first class jerk.  

[binetParticipant]

 Your argument is wrong.

Ben Simmons and his family could watch and see Mudiay’s case of going overseas and have his draft stock fall hard. And he was successful there. 

Going overseas could be a decent idea in theory but so far it’s not paying dividends. NBA wants NCAA players, that’s just a fact. It could change soon but I doubt it. This site views Terrance Ferguson as a 19th pick despite an incredible performance in very competitive Hoop Summit, multiple U-XX selections and a decent start of the season in Australia (don’t know the level of that league, if it’s on par with good european leagues his number are really solid), and some other do not even mention him.

NBA makes it mandatory or close to mandatory to go to the NCAA. We even see multiple euro guys like Mykhaylyuk going to the US in NCAA just to increase their chance to go to the NBA.

Ben Simmons point is valid. He went there and felt there was a problem and decided to speak out about it. He did not complain right away, but just after some time. It’s possible the fault is more on LSU than the league or the NBA on his case. Overhyping, overmerchandising their superstar without giving him anything that he trully needed in his life. It’s clear that the decision to bench him for academic reason was unfair, and the backlash on Simmons image clearly gives Simmons all the legitimacy of the world to speak out, defend himself, his views and expose some flaws of the system. I think that an NCAA program welcoming a rising star like Simmons should give him everything possible in terms of support to help him on his one&done enterprise, nt undermine his career for pride while making tens of millions of dollars on his back.

 

 

 

 

 

[theballerwayParticipant]

of ncaa basketball is 95% exploitation, this is obvious there is no doubt about it. I think its good that he spoke up although I do feel he’s a pampered brat but that’s life for many young star athletes its far from a new trait.  I think its a good that he spoke out even though its nothing that has not bee said before. The Ncaa make so much of these kids in the name of amateurism they should not be held above criticism. There mockery of the game goes beyond one and done, it extends into transfer and eligibility rules and so on and so on and they have been chastised for this over and over tbf but its an lucrative old boys club and change is unlikely

From what I remember the one and done rule was to protect gms from themselves like many CBA rules picking guys like rob swift and leon smith etc. Also to hold more roster spots for older players and increase the marketability of the player drafted. So he technically has to blame his new employer for that season in Baton Rouge

[Author]

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