It’s Chris Broussard, so take this for what it’s worth:

I dunno about the first part of that, but Broussard is correct to suggest that there’s enough spotlight to go around. We saw that in 2017 and 2018, when Ben and Joel played well alongside the likes of JJ Redick, Dario Saric, and Robert Covington.

I think everybody knows that the pair do not fit very well together well on the court, especially in 2020 with Al Horford in the fold. That’s been discussed ad nauseam, with both Ben, Joel, and Brett Brown speaking publicly and frequently on the topic. They talked about it yesterday at length.

As far as the players’ off-court relationship, Simmons said this in May during exit interviews:

“I think our relationship got a lot closer. We grew a lot more as people and players. I think we’re just figuring each other out still. But I got a lot of respect for Jo. He comes in and works hard, plays through certain things that are going on with him. And it’s just like one of those guys who is so determined on the floor. Seeing him after Game 7, it’s hard because you go a whole season playing with that guy. Blood, sweat and tears. But it’s the game and we’re always going to support him, have support with everybody on the team whoever’s is a Sixer.”

It was always understood that Embiid and Simmons did their own thing off the court. They weren’t hanging out together or working out together or getting ice cream cones together at Franklin Fountain. Brown touched on that during a March, 2019 appearance on Zach Lowe’s podcast:

“Ben and Joel and I have sat in this office probably too many times in their eyes. It’s almost like being sequestered to the principal’s office. But over time, the messaging hasn’t pivoted. The history I personally have with Ben and his family, the longevity I have with Joel as the longest serving 76er since we’ve all been together, enables me to talk to those two as candidly as candidly could be. The reality that they need each other, that this is their city, that this is their program, you’re gonna be teammates I hope for a very long time. And at some point, that admission needs to rule the day. In the meantime, you don’t have to go have pizza every night or hang out with each other every night. That’s not it. It’s what goes on between the lines, respect. It always ends up with respect. What I have seen is the emerging partnership, relationship, respect between the two. And I think if they were, pick whatever grade you wanna give em, they are completely moving up the food chain. They start to understand. I think with the revolving door we’ve had this year, it’s really sort of expedited, organically, them looking at each other and (saying) ‘here we still are.’”

Broussard, of course, has a reputation for being rather “loose” with his reporting.

Just a few weeks ago, he suggested the Lakers trade Kyle Kuzma for Robert Covington and Jeff Teague, problem being that Teague had already been traded to the Hawks.

In the summer, he reported that the Clippers were out of the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes:

He also said that Kevin Durant was recruiting players to join the Knicks with him:

After signing for the Nets, Durant said he “didn’t really do any full analysis on the Knicks.”

Again, that “do Ben and Joel get along” story line has been out there for a few seasons now, but I’ve never heard anything off the record to make it seem like they’re “jealous” of one another. They know they play very different brands of basketball, and the fit has always been challenging, so there’s a natural strain that comes with all of that. Still, I think there’s a baseline respect that has evolved over the years as both guys get older and enter their mid-twenties.