NBA News: Ben Simmons Advised To Play To Save Fading Hoop Career

The fate of Ben Simmons is unlikely to change by Feb. 10 as he will most likely stay with the Philadelphia 76ers at least until the summer.

Although he has shown promise, not too many teams are inclined to take a chance and absorb the massive $147 million salary of Simmons, something most feel is not justified by his current level of play.

With the likelihood of seeing the top pick of the 2016 NBA Draft staying on, people close to the Aussie cager are reportedly pushing him to rejoin the Sixers and play for the rest of the season.

With no takers, it would be the only option for Simmons. Sitting out will not help his sagging career, and some pundits have already singled out his immaturity and selfishness.

The reaction of Simmons to the comments made after his performance for the Sixers last season appears to have been overblown.

76ers coach Doc Rivers already explained his side, while Joel Embiid also tried to reach out to Simmons to calm things down.

Embiid appeared on the Mike Missanelli Show and gave his thoughts on the situation.

“You’ve gotta look at yourself. Just like when we lost [in the playoffs], I looked at myself. I knew I wasn’t good enough. I knew I wasn’t healthy enough and I knew I wasn’t good enough,” Embiid stated. “At the end of the day, you’ve gotta have some self-awareness.”

But those efforts became useless as Simmons preferred to be traded than work things out.

Sixers President Daryl Morey put his foot down, saying that for a Simmons trade to go down, they need to be offered a young All-Star-caliber player in exchange.

There have been suggested names, but so far Philly has not budged.

The Sixers are incurring losses by holding on to Simmons. It is a mystery why Philly has passed up some offers with teams even offering multiple players and assets.

It is an ugly situation for the 76ers and Simmons. The NBA trade deadline is in a couple of days, so it will be interesting if the two parties manage to mend fences before the playoffs.