Breaking up Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons Isn't Actually a Popular Idea in NBA

National talk show hosts and guests are obsessed with the idea of Philadelphia 76ers breaking up the duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. For the last couple of seasons, this year especially, it's been a constant topic within the national media.

"They can't fit on the floor together, they don't get along behind the scenes, one wants to be more famous than the other." The idea of deciding between Embiid and Simmons after a disappointing 2019-2020 season is cheap, and the only reason why it's a popular topic is that it gets everybody riled up.

Hours after the Sixers lost their Game 4 elimination matchup against the Boston Celtics, I received an E-Mail from the editor of Sports Illustrated's The Crossover asking to participate in an NBA Roundtable. The topic of discussion was going to be. . . you guessed it, whether the 76ers should trade Embiid or Simmons this offseason.

'Oh, great. Here we go with this topic,' I thought as I pondered over who I would keep. Just as I stated on the roundtable, the Sixers shouldn't even think about trading Simmons or Embiid this offseason. But since the topic is relevant thanks to the national media craze, I answered accordingly.

"If it absolutely has to come down to trading one or the other, though, then the Sixers should hold onto Simmons and dish out Embiid. I'm not saying Simmons is the better player currently, but he seems to have a lot more upside as there is more to his game to be desired. The lack of a jump shot can be frustrating, but once Simmons unlocks that part of his game, he would easily become the most versatile player on the team if he isn't already."

"All jump shot stuff aside, Simmons is still able to score on the offensive end, make tough passes look easy, and is already considered an elite defender, who can guard one through five. Also, his injury history isn't nearly as concerning as Embiid's. Sure, Simmons had his handful of setbacks as of late, but he's played in more games in three seasons than Embiid has played in four years since coming into the NBA. 

Embiid is arguably the best player on the Sixers right now, but what you see is what you get from him. When it comes to Simmons, he hasn't even reached his ceiling yet when it comes to potential, and he's already a two-time All-Star at age 24."

It wasn't that easy to decide -- and thankfully, I wasn't the only one opposed to splitting up the duo. "If it were me, I would at least stay put in the short term," said SI's Jeremy Woo. "No, with an asterisk," responded Mark Betchel. "It is very reasonable to continue to attempt to build around those two pieces, even if the fit is awkward," Robin Lundberg explained. "That may not be the best avenue," says Elizabeth Swinton. And lastly, Ben Pickman asked can Embiid and Simmons coexist on the floor together, to which he responded, "I still think so."

Well, that's interesting. A roundtable consisting of six writers who hadn't discussed the topic beforehand all mentioned it's a bad idea to split up the duo. So I dove in even deeper and stumbled across a piece from HoopsHype, which gets the opinion from several different coaches, executives, and GMs around the league regarding the topic.

Five talent evaluators said the Sixers should keep the duo together. Another five said to trade Embiid basically because of his older age and injury concerns. The remaining three picked trading Simmons because you could probably guess it, his lack of a jump shot in year three. 

All of the aforementioned concerns surrounding both guys are valid. Still, the key point from many of these anonymous talent evaluators was that if the Sixers were to move on from Embiid or Simmons, they aren't going to get the optimal value. In other words, it's really not all that worth it to split up a duo of players that are willing to try and coexist on the court and that do not have any actual behind the scenes issues with one another, as many have suspected. 

Will this topic go away anytime soon? I highly doubt it. As long as it's still being discussed, though, it's necessary to point out that even though it's a hot topic to talk about -- and could also spark up a decent and reasonable debate -- the idea of splitting up Simmons and Embiid isn't actually prevalent in the NBA at this time. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_