Ben Simmons can’t escape his past Sixers saga.

The Nets guard landed in Brooklyn after requesting a trade out of Philadelphia in August 2021. That came amid a summer standoff with the Sixers, who dealt Simmons to the Nets as part of the James Harden deal in February 2022.

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During a Wednesday appearance on “The John Kincade Show” on 97.5 The Fanatic, Sixers veteran forward Georges Niang reflected on Simmons’ unceremonious exit in Philadelphia, and said the situation caused an “uneasy feeling” among the team.

When asked about the difference between Philadelphia’s current roster and last year’s team, Niang smirked and said he had “a lot to say” about the 2021-22 season.

“Well, Ben Simmons kind of handicapped us at the beginning of last year,” Niang said while a live crowd began cheering.

“ … I wasn’t going to say it, but you know what I mean … When you look at building rosters, like I’m talking from like a general manager standpoint, I don’t know how much he makes, but it’s a max contract. So, you immediately take that off the books, I’m not playing. Now you have to figure it out where other role players have to step up and replace the passing, dribbling, rebounding, defence.”

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When one of the show’s hosts chimed and said, “You forgot shooting,” Niang replied, “Exactly, that’s my point” and laughed.

“So you know, to have to do that and you know, I think people don’t understand, the team aspect is very important,” Niang continued. “I think [Sixers head coach] Doc Rivers does a good job of like buying into the team, and so when you don’t know who you’re going to have night in and night out, is he coming back? Is he this?”

“I feel like the updates that we were getting about him was like when I turned on my TV, I was listening to Stephen A. Smith, and he said he’s gonna be at practice tomorrow. And I was like, well, there he is and so last year was difficult because you didn’t know who you have. Then, the trade deadline is coming up and everybody’s walking in like, well, who’s being attached to him? That’s going? So it was just like, you had that uneasy feeling.”

Simmons’ holdout with the Sixers came right after his historically poor offensive performance in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Simmons struggled to shoot during the Sixers-Hawks series, which he’s still trolled about to this day.

The saga in Philadelphia contributed to Simmons’ broken relationship with Sixers big man Joel Embiid — a former dynamic duo that Philadelphia had hoped would deliver them a championship.

In October, Simmons told ESPN that he and Embiid don’t speak, and that the two “never really spoke” or had a relationship.

Simmons then sat out the entire 2021-22 season due to mental health issues and a back injury.

Although Simmons has showed flashes of his former self following his Nets debut in October 2022, the Australian All-Star has yet to establish a concrete role. His numbers have dipped to career-lows for minutes, points, assists, steals and rebounds per game.

The Nets were reportedly discussing Simmons in trade talks earlier this month when they traded Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks and sent Kevin Durant to the Suns. Both stars requested trades out of Brooklyn.

Simmons, who has been in and out of the line-up this season due to injuries, has two years left and $78 million on his contract — and is currently the highest paid player on the Nets’ roster.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission