“He was doing what he felt was best for himself business-wise and personal-wise.”
Ben Simmons and Seth Curry were both recently traded from the 76ers to the Nets together. So, Curry has been there through all of this season’s Simmons drama.
There is a current debate around whether or not Simmons should apologize to the 76ers organization for leaving Philadelphia without really saying good-bye, or apologize for not playing this season due to mental health issues and some injuries.
While Simmons’s exit from Philadelphia was relatively unceremonious after he didn’t play at all this season while dealing with his own mental health issues, Curry does not think that Simmons has to apologize to the 76ers, and he recently explained he reasoning to ESPN.
“Business is business,” Curry said. “I said from day [one], even when he was out early in the season, people were asking me if I feel like, if Ben comes back, should he apologize to us or whatever? I understand the business; he doesn’t need to apologize to anybody. When he’s on the court, I know he’s going to do his job and he’s going to do what he does. So I understand the business. He was doing what he felt was best for himself business-wise and personal-wise.”
Curry emphasized how his feelings have been strictly focused on basketball and not all the off-the-court drama surrounding Simmons.
“The team’s going to do the same thing as far as making trades or whatever, so I understand it, I’ve been around it; I don’t take anything personal,” Curry said. “When we’re on the court, we’re teammates. Everything’s fine. And we depend on each other to do good things. There’s been nothing negative he’s done to me personally, so I’m fine.”
Earlier this week, 76ers guard Danny Green spoke on his “Inside the Green Room” podcast about the sticky relationship Green and Curry had with Simmons. Curry dismissed the statements, saying that Simmons wasn’t around the players much this year for there to be a hostile environment between them.
“The relationship was fine,” Curry said. “He wasn’t around. So I don’t know what [Green] meant by that. ’Wasn’t cordial,’ I don’t know what that means, but the relationship was fine. [Simmons] just wasn’t around so we didn’t see him a lot or we didn't talk a lot. But as far as now, he’s on my [team]. I went to battle with him last year, we did a lot of good stuff and I’m going to go to war with who I’m going to go to war with and who’s on my team, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there with him and doing good stuff.”
Simmons has yet to make his first start with Brooklyn. The Nets play the 76ers on March 10.
More NBA Coverage:
- Ben Simmons’s Mental Health Is Not a Joke
- All Eyes on LeBron and the Lakers in NBA’s Second Half
- In It for a Minute
- All 76ers: Joel Embiid Discusses Difficulty of 'Chasing' Ben Simmons This Season
For more Philadelphia 76ers coverage, check out all 76ers.