Joel Embiid Questions Ben Simmons' Priorities in Final Message

Joel Embiid checked out on Ben Simmons a long time ago. Before the 2021-2022 regular season started, Ben Simmons did everything in his power to get booted from practice as he didn't want to participate and could avoid publicly addressing reporters.

Doc Rivers gave him exactly what he wanted when he simply told Simmons to leave the gym. Shortly after, Embiid told the reporters that were waiting to hear from Simmons that he no longer cared about the situation at that point.

While Embiid refrained from truly sounding off about Simmons and even left the door open for the three-time All-Star's return, it became clear that Simmons wasn't bluffing about never playing for the Philadelphia 76ers ever again.

Fifty-four games into the 2021-2022 NBA season, Ben Simmons didn't show face on a game night once. The disgruntled guard had no intentions of making his way back. Unless Simmons was set to play for a new team, he wouldn't play basketball publicly again.

On Thursday, Simmons got his wish. The Sixers sent the All-Star to the Brooklyn Nets and landed James Harden. As expected, Embiid is thrilled to have a new All-Star to partner with on the Sixers. And to no surprise, Embiid is happy to have the Ben Simmons saga in the rearview even though he reiterated that the Embiid-Simmons duo worked well in the past when controversy didn't get in the way.

"It’s unfortunate how everything happened because you look at the history," Embiid said on Friday. "Obviously, we didn’t get it done as far as winning in the playoffs, but you look at the history being on the court, what we did in the regular season, we were dominant. So, it’s unfortunate that winning was not the biggest factor.”

Many speculated throughout Simmons' young career that the former first-overall pick was more worried about personal accomplishments such as Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and All-Star nods rather than winning. Simmons always downplayed that notion, but it seems Embiid continues to question the three-time All-Star's genuine desire to contribute to team wins.

“It’s unfortunate that, for him, having his own team and I guess being a star was more of his priorities,” Embiid said. “I’ve always thought that everything was great. The fit was great, but unfortunately, Ben thought that it wasn’t."

Will there be regret from both sides of the now-former duo? Probably. But regardless of the regret, frustration, and curiosity about the "what-ifs," Embiid is happy to move on with a star who wants to play for the Sixers and is happy that his entire team can put the Ben Simmons saga to rest.

“I’m happy that I’m not gonna be answering any more questions about that subject,” Embiid stated. “It’s good not just for me, but my teammates too, and the whole organization. The whole year, it’s been pretty annoying with the whole situation, but I’m glad everybody has moved on and I wish everybody the best with whatever they want to accomplish. I’m focused on winning games here and I'm trying to win a championship," he finished.

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