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Following a rocky 2-11 start, the Philadelphia 76ers called a "players only" meeting to try and help steer their season in the right direction. Reports suggest that in this meeting, star point guard Tyrese Maxey called out former MVP Joel Embiid for his issues with punctuality. Ben Maller reacts to these reports, viewing the meeting itself as nothing more than a media attention grab for the team to show fans they're doing something.
Ben Maller: "The reason we're talking about this story, and the reason the Sixers made sure this story got out, was strategic. You know how I feel about 'players only' meetings... they're done for the cameras. They're held to give the illusion that you care. To give the appearance that you're really trying to do something to turn things around... Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid could've easily had a private one-on-one conversation, but instead they had it in front of the entire team. Someone then conveniently leaks the story to Shams Charania to broadcast it to the world. It's public shaming stocks. You're airing dirty laundry outside because you want this to publicly embarrass Embiid. You know he's someone who consumes a lot of media, and you're trying to wake him up."