Simmons' departure farce has been over for some time, since the deal was closed on the deadline, Simmons went to his favorite place, and the 76ers welcomed a super guard like Harden, judging from the results, it can be said that everyone is happy; but Embiid, who is the star of the 76ers, still looks a bit grumpy.
Recently, Embiid made a guest appearance on a podcast called "The Old Man & The Three", in which he talked about Simmons again, saying that local fans in Philadelphia have always hoped that Simmons can improve in shooting performance, but after so many years, Simmons has not improved.
"You know how much they want him to shoot, how much they want him to get better in his own way, he's a great basketball player, he's done a lot of things in his own way that deserve our attention, but the fans also feel like he's not improving at all since his rookie season." Embiid said.
"That's the part I understand, because even if you look back at so many years the fans most want him to do what he did? Shooting three-pointers or free throws, we didn't see anything, so we thought it was too long and he didn't change in the slightest. Embiid continued.
As Embiid puts it, Simmons' progress in the first few years of his career was limited, averaging 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game in his rookie season, and averaging 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game in his final season with the 76ers. Throughout his career, Simmons has maintained a shooting percentage of more than 55 percent, but the vast majority of his shots are concentrated in the box, his overall outside shooting rate is only 11.1 percent, and he only shoots 0.1 three-pointers per game, which is negligible; for a guard player, such a performance is disastrous.
In contrast, Embiid, the star's interior line has been constantly improving and adjusting his way of playing, he has 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his debut season, but this season he can already average 30 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game; once Embiid was known for his flexible footsteps and low-level offense, but this season's Embiid is already a super interior line that can be inside and outside, can attack low, can hold the ball frame, and even retreats from the three-point line.
Constantly breaking through, constantly enterprising, and constantly improving, this may be where Embiid has always questioned and criticized Simmons, and for this former teammate, Embiid may be more angry in his heart!