Embiid Remains Clueless About Ben Simmons' Desire to Leave Sixers

Back in October, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid wasn't granted the opportunity to speak with his teammate Ben Simmons one-on-one to figure out why the former first-overall pick has grown disgruntled.

All Embiid had was the rumors that were going around the internet. Fast forward to March, more than two months since Simmons was traded away to the Brooklyn Nets, and Embiid still remains clueless about Simmons' desire to leave the Sixers.

During his introductory press conference with the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons danced around questions regarding his decision to want to move on.

While the three-time All-Star claimed that there isn't a single factor that drove him away from Philly -- he had a hard time pinpointing or even hinting at a reason why he wanted out. And since Simmons confirmed he didn't talk to Embiid following the trade, it comes as no surprise Embiid remains just as confused as the next person.

Left in the Dark

As the latest guest on Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green's podcast, Embiid opened up about the Simmons saga with the world champion. 

While the All-Star center looked forward to avoiding any Simmons-related questions following last week's matchup against the Nets, he was happy to re-visit the saga once more with one of his respected competitors. 

“I just didn’t understand what was going on, honestly. I didn’t understand what happened and what led up to that whole situation. To this day, I don’t understand. Even when you look at it and I don’t have any problems with him and like I say, obviously we didn’t win the championship together, but in the regular season, we went dominant every single season. 50-win seasons, I always believed that we had a chance to win together. Like I always believed that even to this day. I believe that we had a chance to win and what we were able to accomplish obviously, winning matters the most, but I feel like we had a chance and that’s what I don’t get. I don’t understand what was going on, honestly. What caused him to want to leave. I understand his explanation, but a lot of things don’t make sense.” h/t Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire

From the start of the preseason this year, Embiid made it clear that he would welcome Simmons back to the team with open arms as he believed they were a much better team with him than without him.

However, it was clear the five-time All-Star started to grow fed up with the situation. Therefore, he didn't feel a need to beg his former co-star to return to the court. At this point, it doesn't matter. Embiid had a new co-star in James Harden and Simmons is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

While the way everything went down is unfortunate, Embiid, the Sixers, and Simmons are all looking forward as the mysterious Simmons saga has finally concluded.

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