Doc Rivers knows what it’s like to hear one’s name tossed around in trade rumors, although he never experienced anything quite like what Ben Simmons did Wednesday.
Simmons remained a Sixer after multiple reports indicating the team was deep in negotiations to potentially send him to the Rockets as part of a trade package for three-time scoring champion James Harden. With Harden now on the Nets and Simmons still in Philadelphia, Rivers had an interesting perspective on the trade buzz.
“It’s all individual as far as your name being mentioned in trade (discussions),” the Sixers head coach said before his team’s win Thursday night over the Heat. “I just know when I was a bad player, I was never mentioned in trades, and when I was a really good player, I was mentioned in trades. Unfortunately, that’s part of the business. I would look at it the other way. That’s how I looked at it. The year I made the All-Star team, I was on the trading block that next year.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"That’s just the way it is; it’s our league. And I looked at it that way, like, man, I played good enough that I’m mentioned in trades. Now, I was never mentioned in a trade with a James Harden. I was never that good. And that’s how you should look at it.”
After recording his second triple-double of the season, Simmons was asked how he’d handled the last day.
“I come in here and work every day,” he said. “My job is to get better and get wins. All the other stuff, I can’t control. … All I can control is how I come in with my mindset, with practices and on the floor. And I had a great time tonight. I’m blessed. I get to play the game I love every day at the highest level in the world. There’s far worse things going on in the world. I’m in a blessed position. If you told me I would never play the game again, that would be a different story.”
Is Simmons happy to be here?
NBA
“Of course,” he said.
It sure seems Rivers shares that feeling and is prepared to publicly highlight what Simmons does well whenever questions arise about the 24-year-old's offensive game. Miami often dropped far off of Simmons at the top of the key, a strategy the two-time All-Star has seen plenty before. During training camp, Rivers had said he welcomed that approach, comparing Simmons to another former All-Star ball handler.
“Yeah, it’s more angles — pick angles,” he said last month. “I think people forget I had (Rajon) Rondo, and he was a pick-and-roll giant. And we ran it every night, and every night people thought they were going to go under on him, and the next thing you know, he was making plays. I always tell our guys, especially a guy like Ben, if they’re going to give you room, liken yourself to a great quarterback that there’s no rush. You get to make decisions.
“With Rondo, and I think it’ll be the same with Ben, you’re going to allow Ben to make passes? It’s just like a quarterback in the NFL. I keep telling our guys, if you didn’t blitz or rush some of these guys, can you imagine the passes they would make? And I want our guards to feel the same way.”
So, how did Rivers think Simmons handled things during the Sixers’ two-game mini-series sweep? He gave a strong response to that question, emphasizing the success of Simmons and the Sixers’ offense as a whole.
“We just scored 125 points,” he said. “We shot 54 percent. We shot almost 46 percent from the three. Ben had a triple-double. You know what I mean? We know exactly what we want to do when teams play like that, and we did it tonight. No issues for us at all.”
However, Rivers doesn’t mind communicating to Simmons that he has room to improve, which Simmons appreciates. It’s not guaranteed that their player-coach relationship will last forever, as we’ve seen in recent days, but both parties seem to like how it's started, along with the fact it didn't end abruptly.
“Doc keeps it real with me,” Simmons said. “He keeps it straight. He wants to see me get better, improve, stay in the gym and continue to work. The relationship is growing with Doc. I think so far I’ve learned a lot. I think that goes down to even just professionalism, how I carry myself, the way I play and come out — what energy I have is going to affect others on the floor. So if I come out, especially on the defensive end, playing great defense, I feel like my teammates are going to keep that same energy. It’s going to get us wins and take us far.”
Subscribe to the Sixers Talk podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube