No one in this scenario is coming off well. Given how savvy Morey, Doc, and even Embiid are with respect to their jobs and the media, it's a headscratcher why no one can get out of their own way.

I don't think Doc said the right thing. He made mistakes himself in that series. But I think at the moment he passive-aggressively went at Ben, he saw that all the coaching up and all the times he probably went out of his way to praise Ben had no real impact.

Yes, Ben was infamously bad this postseason but his unwillingness to show any commitment to expanding his offensive game has been a constant for years. His reputation as a talented player with a highly fragile ego is why Doc was so glowing in his recaps of Ben, even when Ben didn't quite deserve Doc's praise.

The management and coaching staff is all-new, but the discontent of the organization in Ben's lack of growth isn't. That could be why we look at the Sixers' desire to trade Ben seems new. In reality, the tide has been flowing in that direction for some time.