Niang reveals past anger toward Simmons.

George Niang of the Cleveland Cavaliers appeared on the “Road Trippin Show” on Wednesday (Jan. 31) to talk about his time in Philadelphia.

Niang is a forward who has survived in the NBA based on his shooting ability. He averaged a career 3-point percentage of 39.7 percent, 파워볼사이트 with many seasons above 40 percent.

Niang started his career at Utah, where he made a name for himself, before joining Philadelphia for the 2021-2022 season. At the time, Niang’s contract was worth about $6.7 million over two years.

Philadelphia needed a shooter like Niang because they have Ben Simmons to guard the opposing sagging defense. Niang would be a great fit with Simmons, who has a wide range and is good at finding teammates for open shots.

However, Niang and Simmons would never share the court in the same uniform. Simmons was traded to Brooklyn without playing a single game in Philadelphia in the 2021-2022 season due to his refusal to play.

Simmons performed below expectations in the 2021 playoffs, heavily hampered by his shooting weaknesses, and faced a lot of criticism. After falling out with the organization, he requested a trade, but it didn’t happen, and the season was about to begin.

Instead of returning to the club, Simmons refused to play and accepted a fine. He reluctantly participated in training, but was kicked out by the coaching staff for being disloyal. In the aftermath of the tackling controversy, Simmons’ camp cited mental issues as the reason for his absence.

Simmons’ controversy was also a big disappointment for Niang, who was looking forward to playing with him on the court. Niang explained that he signed with the team for slightly more than the minimum, looking forward to playing with Simmons, but was upset by what happened next.

“I’m done talking about it, and the Ben Simmons incident made me angry. I was only paid a little more than the minimum at the time. I thought being paired with Simmons would be good for my career. I thought it was the perfect combination. I’m a spot-up shooter, and he’s the one who breaks through, breaks down the opponent, and makes the kick-out pass. But then he told me he wasn’t going to play, and I was devastated,” Niang recalled.

Niang says that when Simmons briefly showed up at the team’s training facility, his teammates tried to welcome him, but his reaction was lukewarm.

“Then he was walking around the team facility, and everyone was trying to get him to welcome them,” Niang said. But he just nodded his head. I decided then that if I ever got the chance to play against him, I was going to be a really bad person,” Niang said, adding that he was furious, even using profanity.

After a bad breakup in Philadelphia, Simmons hasn’t lived up to expectations in Brooklyn. In two and a half seasons, he has played just 57 games, and his on-court performance has suffered greatly due to injury. He’s gone from a No. 1 prospect who was compared to the next LeBron James to one of the NBA’s worst bad contracts.