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Barkley feels bad for Embiid; 76ers must play or trade Simmons to become ‘true contenders’

The Kings are hoping Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey will come to the table to make a deal for Ben Simmons before the NBA trade deadline expires on Feb. 10.

The 76ers have been reluctant to make a deal for Simmons to this point, but TNT analyst Charles Barkley said they must either play Simmons or trade him if they want to be “true contenders” for the NBA championship.

Barkley discussed the situation in Philadelphia on Thursday on “Inside the NBA” after Joel Embiid was selected as a starter for the All-Star Game, which will be held Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The 76ers have won 13 of 16 with Embiid playing at an MVP level to get within two games of the Miami Heat for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but Barkley said that isn’t enough.

Host Ernie Johnson asked Barkley about the possibility of the 76ers passing the Heat, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets to secure the No. 1 seed in the East.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Barkley, a Hall of Famer who played for the 76ers from 1985-1992. “Not if they don’t have Ben Simmons it don’t. Not if they don’t make a trade. They can have the No. 1 seed. They’re not going to win a championship until they handle the Simmons situation. There’s nobody in their right mind — and you know I root for the Sixers and the Suns, my two teams — there’s nobody, there’s not one guy on TV going to tell you right now the Sixers are the team to beat in the East no matter where they finish.”

Miami (31-17) leads the Eastern Conference followed by the Bulls (30-17), Cavaliers (30-19), Nets (29-19), 76ers (29-19) and Bucks (30-20). Barkley said the Nets and Bucks are the favorites to win the East.

“It’s going to go through Brooklyn and Milwaukee,” Barkley said. “As much as I love what the Bulls are doing and what the Heat are doing, it’s going through Milwaukee and Brooklyn.”

Embiid is averaging a career-high 29.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and a career-best 4.3 assists per game for the 76ers. He has been even better in January, averaging 34.5 points on 54.8% shooting.

Embiid has missed 112 games over his first six seasons in the NBA. He has been relatively healthy this season, but Barkley fears the 76ers will squander an opportunity to win their first championship since 1983.

“I feel so bad for Joel Embiid,” Barkley said. “This guy is playing the best of anybody in the NBA, and it’s not even going to matter because, until they figure out what to do with Ben Simmons, the Sixers are not true contenders.”