Navigating a Ben Simmons Scenario

Whether it’s in sports or business, the Law of Three is relevant to just about any organization. It focuses on three different groups of people on the same team.

Group 1 is the doers, the ones who will do whatever, whenever to get the job done.

Group 2 consists of the undecided, those who are unsure about the leadership or their own commitment levels.

Group 3 is the malcontents, those who are rarely happy and have no desire to really be part of the team.

As we’ve watched the drama with Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers play out over the past week, we’ve gotten an excellent blueprint from team President Daryl Morey on navigating the Law of Three.

Morey has shown us that those in Group 3 must essentially be ignored. They must be made to believe they have no leverage in the situation, that their demands aren’t going to be accommodated, so they might as well stop trying.

In these scenarios, management must then focus its attention solely on those in Group 1, the ones who really care and convey their commitment. Doing so typically leads Group 2 members to come aboard.

“You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not, this could be four years," Morey told 97.5 The Fanatic recently. "The conditions I'm pointing out to you don't change. Unless Ben Simmons is traded for a difference-maker, we're in the prime of Joel [Embiid]'s career. We have to get back either Ben Simmons playing well for us, who helps us win the championship, or we have to get back a difference-maker for Ben Simmons. Or this could be four years from now, and we're still like, 'Hey, we took the best shot at it we could.'

"This could be four years. This is not day-to-day. Every day, we're going to expect Ben Simmons to be back here, or we're trading him for a difference-maker. There's no other outcome that doesn't materially hurt our chance to win the championship in Joel Embiid's prime.

"We would want him to play and be back starting tomorrow. But if he chooses to take some other path, that's his choice."

Morey hasn’t blinked. He hasn’t succumbed to giving both sides equal weight or allowed Simmons to have an equal voice within the team under these circumstances, no matter his talent level.

Some will say this is a huge distraction that the 76ers must immediately eliminate. But if management placates the demands of a Group 3 member, those in Groups 1 and 2 could follow suit at any point down the road.

By ignoring this request, though, by refusing to give Simmons attention, Morey forces him to either join Group 1 or potentially lose years off of his career.

The solution to these types of dilemmas is not nearly as complicated as it may appear. But it does require the leader to stand firm and tune out the outside noise.

Some will inevitably ask: How can you have a great culture with something like this lurking in the background and casting a shadow over the organization?

But it’s easy, really. Culture gets stronger in the long run when those who are most committed come together and become even more united in their cause.

As leaders, we cannot be afraid of conflict or navigating a Group 3 scenario.

By turning a blind eye to those who refuse to buy in, we can forge a stronger bond with those who actually do.