Although Dwight Howard is separated by more than 4000 kilometers from Philadelphia, he was there when everything was blown up. The current Lakers center lived as Ben Simmons’ teammate not only the night everyone pointed him out, but everything that led to that outcome. Now, from the distance that the Californian coast provides him, he has wanted to come out in defense of the Australian, comparing his situation to the one he himself experienced in Orlando. «I don’t like that everything that happens inside [de las organizaciones] it has to be in the public domain. It reminds me of what happened when I was in Orlando.
Since his departure from the Sixers, Howard has been upset more than once with public criticism of Simmons. He has always argued that people do not know the situation to release their opinions without filter. This is how he made it known to Taylor Rooks in his talk for Bleacher Report. Obviously Ben is one of my closest friends. It bothers me the things I have heard about him. Above all, Howard regretted that he had been able to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. “Instead of saying it in public, take that person, say it in private and keep things from getting so ugly,” he says referring to the first statements of Embiid, Rivers and all the exchange of pujas that followed.
This does not mean that Howard fully exonerates his former partner. In fact, he claims to have been very frustrated with Simmons’ infamous no-mate. “When we lost to the Hawks, he was pissed off at Ben for that play. I wanted him to mate and smash the hoop. But he didn’t, and it’s not just his fault that we lost that series. My point is, we shouldn’t just blame him. True to his word, the center did not want to comment on the conflict that Simmons and Sixers have right now in the management of the player’s mental health. He prefers not to comment on what he does not know first-hand.
(Cover photo by Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
