Sixers star Ben Simmons recently rejected the opportunity to meet with his teammates in Los Angeles, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania reports that players such as Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Matisse Thybulle planned on traveling to meet with Simmons and change his mind about requesting a trade.
Simmons communicated that he didn’t want his teammates to make the trip, as he has no interest in playing for the Sixers this season. The 25-year-old has held firm on his stance and appears to be mentally checked out from Philadelphia, Charania writes.
Along with various players, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers also recently expressed some hope that Simmons would change his mind and return.
“There’s been so many times this has happened (in sports) that hasn’t been reported…and the guy comes back,” Rivers said last week, as relayed by Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. “So listen, we’re going to go through it. We’re gonna always do what’s best for the team, but I can tell you up front, we would love to get Ben back, and if we can, we’re gonna try to do that. Ben has a long contract, so it’s in our hands and we want him back.”
The Sixers have received interest for Simmons, but no trade is imminent, according to Charania. The team will host its media day on Monday and begin training camp on Tuesday. With Simmons, the club finished 49-23 last season — good for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Simmons is coming off a season where he averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. The defensive-minded point forward struggled in the Sixers’ second-round series against the Hawks, however, harming his trade value among rival teams.
Assuming Simmons doesn’t show up for training camp next week, Philadelphia can fine him or withhold game payments. He’s currently in the second season of a five-year, maximum-salary extension signed during the summer of 2019.
Wow can’t wait to see which lucky team wins the Ben Simmons sweepstakes.
Sure don’t want him on my team.
Me neither. A great lottery team player.
The sixers aren’t the problem, Ben is the problem. He clearly quit on his teammates.
I wouldn’t make this about ben and the teammates.
This is about ben and the organization’s leaders from front office to the coach.
That relationship has been broken. Needs repaired.
Ben signed a contract though and I believe he should follow through with it.
Ben needs to get over himself. He signed a contract. It’s a business. It was a business when he got the money/contract he was looking for. Team was looking to see what they could get for him to improve shooting, etc. That comes with the territory when you don’t perform.
Turning away teammates has taken it to a new level. Hear them out. They are offering their time for you. The kid just needs to grow up and get some thicker skin.
I’m sure he feels left hung out to dry. Probably feels like his team and teammates have not supported him properly with his struggles in last playoffs. Especially with Doc Rivers comments few months ago he’s like, “you know what, they threw me under the bus, I’m done with them. Trade my assets somewhere.”
Here’s the thing. Something like this doesn’t happen overnight. They haven’t had a good locker room for a couple of seasons so when a little adversity hits as with any family, there’s going to be trouble. There’s no strength in this relationship to withstand a bumpy road. Divorce is imminent here.
Plenty of blame to go around here for both him and the team.
You’re right GreenWood.
Phili’s ownership and front office have been abysmal for years now. They can’t get out of their own way.
For Ben, holy cow is he fragile. You won’t even meet with your teammates? That’s super weak.
Ben’s trade value just keeps dropping due to his actions and Mgmt keep doubling down on being stubborn.
What a cluster.
I mean it makes sense for Simmons if he truly wants out.
They wont take the best deal on the table if it doesnt compare to what they think he is worth unless forced to.
For Simmons his new team giving up less to get him so that they are stronger is better.
It is bad for his reputation though where this looks bad, although I kinda get it. The FO and teammates threw him under the bus, but if I am Ben I dont want to come back to Philly and deal with those terrible terrible fans. Playing in Phil is perhaps more whats driving him wanting out. Worst fan city in America across all sports….
Let me guess, because we threw snowballs at Santa? Cuz we cheered when Michael Irvin went down with an injury? Oh wait, I bet it’s because someone threw POPCORN at Westbrook! Get over yourself.
Sorry if we’re the type of fans that actually appreciate and expect effort more than success. But know this, even though it’s a rare event, when one of our teams wins a championship there is no better city to do it in.
Opposing outfielders used to wear batting helmets in the field because Philly fans would throw batteries at them…. Oh and the dude that ate horse s*** because the Eagles won. Then the things you said. The history of racism with the city and media. In almost every sport Philly fans are some of the worst.
Simmons will be screamed at by his home fans if he plays this season. Not hard to see why he would pass on that while getting scapegoated for a roster that wasnt built to allow him to succeed.
“Terrible terrible fans”
It’s amazing to me how people that don’t live here think they know about Philly. Rather listen to dumb ass narratives created by wannabe social media journalists who just want credit and stir up nonsense
You have no clue about the fans and the pulse of the city
We cheered and supported this dude for 5 years. Through all his gifts and talents and his obvious faults, we stood by this dude UNTIL he decided not to show up when his team needed him the most because he played scared. Every offseason watching this egomaniac post videos of himself shooting 3s in a gym to crunch time in the playoffs when he didn’t take a shot in the 4th quarter. He was so bad he became a liability when all the Hawks had to do was put him on the foul line. And even then, we cheered him to make those free throws. And now he wants to take his ball elsewhere?
So please stop with the asinine “Philly fans are the worst” BS. Every city has “terrible” fans
My co-worker is an Eagles fan and has told me not to ever come to a PHI/Dal game with a jersey on unless you want to get jumped. Not many fan bases can say that and mean it. A lot of Eagles fans give them a bad reputation.
They aren’t fans, they’re idiots
Gary…. you’re damn close with that comment. Trust, Ben didn’t suddenly forget how to play basketball when the playoffs started. The dynamic there – especially for him – shifted all season. It’s Joel’s team.
He didn’t mail it in… he FedEx’d it ;)
Agreed Gary
100 percent correct
Simmons is going to sit and pay for his insolence. When the Sixers do eventually trade Ben ,it will be at their own time and their own place of choice. His replacement, maxey will put up similar numbers, with a much better free throw and field goal percentage. Most important, ty won’t choke in clutch.
Morey is the problem. This was bound to happen eventually and we could all see it coming. Yet he wasted time seeking ludicrous returns and now has loss significant leverage. Downright poor GM work to this point.
Factual. We can debate whether Harden was “actually” on the table or not but either way—Morey and the 6ers have had ample opportunity to get value for Simmons . . . they just waited it out too long. Way too long.
I would have quit too not because of the fans feelings but Joel Embiid didn’t have his back and Ben knows this. He see the phoniness coming from Joel. They didn’t have his back. Where he can come back and go hard in the paint. Joel made another mistake in regards to trade rumors between Klay Steph and Ben..
He might wanna call laveon bell and see how this kinda situation turned out for his career..
Football is controlled by the teams and owners. Basketball is much more even between teams and players, leaning toward the players. Completely different deal.
seamaholic a major difference is that most, if not all, NFL contracts are not guaranteed or only partially guaranteed. Apples and kumquats.
Yes. If Simmons’ contract were not fully guaranteed this would be an entirely different situation.
I am not a Ben Simmons fan and I believe he has been vastly overhyped and overrated since he was in high school. But this offseason I also believe the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. The guy had a bad series, but it was a handful of games. Everyone that has ever played in the NBA has had bad games. Instead of complimenting Atlanta for finding ways to stop Simmoms and beat the Sixers, some people prefer to blame Simmons. They ignore his overall career and focus on the worst games.
I guess it really is more a case of modern American thinking because we judge everyone now solely on the worst decision they have ever made and ignore any good they ever did in life. Sorry for the long-winded diatribe, but this type of thinking really bothers me.
Dude it’s been four years of the same crap. It was just not about the Atlanta series. His game has regressed over those 4 years. What superstar does that happen to. Think about it.
I’m a fan of a Western Conference team so I really wouldn’t know, but it sure seems like he was a very good player last year, at least in the regular season. Completely unique player.
Big different playing in the regular season and playoffs. He’s totally liability when playing more half court during the playoffs.
Dude it’s been four years of the same crap. It was just not about the Atlanta series. His game has regressed over those 4 years. What superstar does that happen to. Think about it. He needs to grow up and stop blaming everyone else for his decencies and short comings. Period just stop with the nonsense.
You are on the money on all of your points here.
Well, the Sixers should also learn to not devalue its own assets if they want to trade such assets.
I love that people do not give any blame to the organization that thought losing for years was a viable strategy to win a championship, the team that had Burngate, the team that screwed up and chose Markel Fults v. Tatum, the team that let Jimmy Butler and JJ Reddick leave…
Yeah its ALL Ben Simmons fault.
Lets be honest, Sixers are a mess, have been a mess for a while.
I don’t recall BS blaming anybody for anything. Dude got thrown under the bus by his coach & teammates, was told that he was going to get traded by the front office(which he agrees), but they’re asking for a ridiculous amount picks & assets. Now they’re trying to make him look bad(telling the media he’s not talking with teammates). I can only imagine Simmons thinking he’s going to go to another organization, have a fresh start, but philly is pretending to want him back, so he can get his trade value up and trade him to any team willing to give them the best offer.
How about Ben leaving his teammates out to dry when they need him in a big game and just runs and hides and comes up small. Real small.
You’re acting like he purposely played bad. Why don’t you blame doc rivers for not benching him down the stretch?
@real1
what reason would the Sixers have to leak negative reports to the media if it makes him coming back or increasing his trade value less likely? It’s likely a player or their agent leaking this.
That’s a valid point because he does do certain things extremely well, especially on defense and he has excellent passing skills. If he was used the same way as Draymond then we would see a much more effective version of Simmons. Using him as a PG is the root of the problem here, he’s a PF.
Hiflew
I don’t know about an American way of thunking. But I don’t believe Simmons is American.
And, let’s be honest…the dude was terrible at the foul line which is why he started to shy away from the basket. Did it show a lack of courage? Absolutely. Did it show mental weakness? Of course. But you can’t argue that it wasn’t logical to an extent. People act like he sexually assaulted someone, ffs. The fact that certain players get eviscerated for not having a Mamba mentality is silly. Some sports fans get way too invested in this stuff to the point of acting like jerks. Simmons is simply one of those guys like you or me who may not have what it mentally takes to truly succeed in the NBA. Of course, his physical gifts largely compensate for that.
And I say this as someone who is far from a supporter of his. The lack of development in his game and rumored resistance to change or advice reflect poorly on him. But as you noted, it was one series. One series where he was laying an egg and let the pressure suffocate him. I could definitely see the same thing happening to some of the folks here in his shoes.
Shaq was one of the worst free throw shooters ever to play the game. I remember Lakers losing a few playoff games because his free throws were so bad. I remember when the Celtics literally fouled Shaq in the Championship game. Just so the game remained close by putting him on the foul line. He’d go 0-2 or make a basket after 8-9 attempts at the foul line. I think Doc handled Simmons very poorly in that Atlanta series. At least Phil Jackson managed Shaq’s ball handling and counter the fouls against him. At most, Shaq saw the ball in his hands for no more than a second. They moved the ball around offensively and kept Shaq in the game in critical times for a easy dunk or other 2 points with a foul. Doc couldn’t do that with Simmons for some reason. Phil beat the Celtics by allowing them to focus too much on Shaq. Doc just allowed Simmons to be a puppet of poor play without protecting his players. Simmons got smacked around hard in that series. This is why Doc will never see a championship. His ego is more important than his players
Shaq wasn’t on the Lakers team that beat the Celtics.
You sure about that? Rondo, KG, Allen, and company was on that Celtics team and I swore Shaq was still with the Lakers.
Nope, that would be Gasol and Bynum.
Whats sad that he want to be traded not because of the fans. His teammates didn’t have his back. Joel openly spoke about his wrong after that game and not how much he has contribute to the team. Ben don’t give a care now. He can only get better but with another team.
Rivers surely cannot believe that the holdout started this offseason. Maybe this leg of it but Simmons has been pulling back starting at least last season on-court.
Rivers is right about having to get reluctant players going but if the grumpy player is a star, a FO will be covetous, thus the need for Simmons to be badly behaved for a force-out.
Players used to play this out by leaving in free agency, but the CBA was tweaked to support lucrative contract extensions… HR article yesterday.
Blame me all you want when I suck up the floor and don’t produce. As long as those checks for $500,000k a week keep coming. Dude is so OVERRATED and acts like he is the 2nd coming of Michael or Kobe. Sit at home and don’t collect your $$$. By the end of the year your team and fans will have forgotten and you can continue to act a child. A broke one.
The only people that are overrating Ben Simmons is the sixers front office and sixers fans. If he’s overpaid and so bad how can they expect to get a “harden-esque” deal?
Fans also massively overrate offense and massively underrate defense. Simmons is the most versatile defender in the league and the only player close to his defensive value is gobert, another offensive black hole.
Sixers won’t be close to the top team in the east next year without Simmons. Embiid is a stud but he’s not going to age well with all of his injuries.
Amen I say they should put in the CBA that if any player that holds out that teams have to take there salary to upgrade communities such as schools, housing, and families in need.
And how exactly is he acting like that? By wanting to get out of a place where he is clearly no longer wanted? Heaven forbid!
Wiggins, JTA, and draft picks for Simmons is getting much closer to happening. Sixers need to make a move soon. They need to get what they can before he sits and trade value goes down even more. I bet the Kings are getting a call today.
I’d rather have a bag of chips than Wiggins.
Hard no on JTA. The other teams arent going to value him all that highly as a throw in, but there is no way the GSW can get away with trading away the hometown kid that made good after going to Warriors camp because of HOF Al’s wife in 2nd grade. Look at the documentary NBC sports just did on the kid from 95th…..
JTA is one of the safest players on the team behind the big 3. The team has massively played up his OAK roots in the marketing and stuff, as well as being one of fewer players with a Hispanic background in a high Hispanic population region. There is a decent shot anti vax Wigs goes for Simmons, but no way in hell JTA is going with. Could be Wigs and a couple like top 8 protected draft picks with an extra swap.
The money matches close enough for the rules on the two straight up.
JTA is Simmons lite so I expect Sixers would want him for the defense value he provides. I just don’t see Morey trading Simmons to GSW because of his hate for GSW. A 3 way trade he might do it.
No, no, no…Why would you want a selfish player on a team that thrives on unselfishness?
Sit out on $32mil. Good luck guy!
Ben only has himself to blame. He’s just another Diva. That a team has catered to. The world knows his shot HAS to get better. Has It ???? NO
Even his FT shooting has gotten worse. Sixers deserve more blame for giving this guy the max and letting him get WORSE. Then complaining like it’s something new. Morey is an Aaa kisser. He let Harden run team. He even tried to get Harden. Like he an Embiid would ever work. My analytics says Morey Suxx big time. They knew after the Hawks series that it was over in Philly. Any Real Philly fan can tell you that. Best time to move him was at draft. His analytics blew that too. Now what are they doing?? Damage control, after they did all the damage. Cause they got no control. Ben gets his FT shooting 75% or better. He can dominate at the 3 or 4. That’s what I do with him.
Morey ——- I’m saving your soul and your job.
Ben and the agent/Maxey >> to Kings
Halliburton, Buddy, Bagley, #1 pick >> to Sixers
You get a REAL PG who will be an all star on Sixers. Bagley will thrive next to Embiid. And Buddy will give you instant offense off the bench. This team can come out the East. It’s a deep team now. Plus you have two picks in 1st rd next yr. PG- Haliburton, SG- Green
C- Embiid, PF- Bagley, SF- Harris . Deep bench.
Ben – 14.3 pts, 7.2 reb, 6.9 ast. 2020-21
Bagley – 14.1 pts, 7.4 reb, 1.0 ast. 2020-21
That’s anALytics ……
And everyone thinks Bagley sucked last year.
Doc Rivers fault for not standing up for Simmons and pasting the blame for the ECF loss. Doc should speak up and make a plea for Simmons. take the entire blame for the loss. Saying it was Simmons that got them where they went last year.
Bens woes are nothing new. Man, best time was at the draft. They overvalued his worth. And undervalued his wanting out. A bad franchise move all around IMO.
Harris cannot play the 3 at a decent level…there is a reason he barely plays the 3 over the past couple of years.
That’s not analytics. That’s literally a box score stats that skip over actually analyzing what they mean or their actual impact on wins, losses and comparative production.
Bagley is a negative on defense and offense. Simmons has a WAR of 6 and Bagley .1. There is no method of advanced statistics that has ever been created that would have Bagley anywhere near Simmons in actual game impact. Simmons is a top 40 players and Bagley might be a top 250-300 player.
It’s not Ben for Bagley.. lol. Ben is a goner so it’s time to think of the future. What will work with Embiid and Harris. IMO Halliburton alone is worth Ben. But a guy like Bagley would thrive next to Embiid. I think I said that already. I happen to be a Ben supporter. But the time has come to move on. No, time has passed cause the draft was the time to do it. Now the deck is stacked against Sixers.
And that’s before you factor in the injuries. Bagley could be out of the league in the few years, though he’ll like get several more opportunities simply because of the popcorn stats and “potential”.
;)
Haliburton is not available. Nor is Fox
Because he is a …..
NBA players are hilarious
Simmons is destined to be an above average player on non-championship caliber teams. LSU sucked the one year he was there. He had little pressure on him when the Sixers weren’t considered a potential championship team. He got his big contract when the stakes were not as high as they were after the contract. He just needs to go to a franchise that will never have hope like Cleveland, Minnesota, or Sacramento. Just glide for the rest of his career with fat paychecks, great stats, and longer summer vacations.
I hope the NBA finds a way to take a tougher stance on this. I think he should be forced to sit out for the remainder of his contract and make no money- like the rest of those who have a job but don’t want to do it.
I believe that would be the result if Philly’s FO just said yeah we will keep fining you every day until you show up ready to play.
He could sit at home for 4 more years but would not be able to sign with another team, including the Euro league, which has an agreement with the NBA regarding contracts.
I get it. At this point he’s made his mind up (mind you, so has the sixers front office, teammates, coaches, and fans), so save them the trip. We all know it’s disingenuous, they’re only trying to do it because the front office botched the entire summer trying to trade Simmons. Just like Morey’s recent comments, Rivers’ comments, and Embiid’s tweets trying to save face and pretend like they still want him there. I’m not sure why Simmons is getting all the blame for this holdout and is being called selfish because getting Simmons traded is literally what EVERYONE wants.
It’s also worth mentioning that this is not a situation like when AD or Harden asked to be traded. Both franchises and fans never wanted them to leave but they held themselves out regardless. Simmons is doing this only after the fans, coaches, players, and front office have publicly denounced him. It’s crazy to say but Simmons is the only one being honest and genuine here. Everyone else in the organization just stop being fake and pretending like you still want him on the team. It reeks of desperation.
Simmons can’t face his teammates or his own failure. He’s no A.I. my friend, he’s not built for philly. Go to some soft town to play I say Ben. Try Los Angeles or Portland. Championship players embrace the moment, Simmons ran from it.
It’s funny that people say he can’t face his own failure because immediately after game 7 in the press conferences he acknowledged the weaknesses in his game and what he needed to work on. Then he held out of the olympics to worn on his game this summer. I’m not even a Simmons or Sixers fan I’m just looking at this situation logically. The Simmons witch hunt has gone way too far and he is taking the majority of the blame for their playoff failure, subsequent botched summer trade opportunities (that GS trade offer? Really Morey? That was outrageous and only hurt his credibility), and holdout. There are many people to blame for this entire chain of events but Simmons has become the scapegoat and everyone else who also screwed up is getting off totally scot free.
He held himself out of the Olympics my friend because he might get fouled on the Olympic world stage.
Sports mirrors politics in a lot of ways. People tend to hate nuance or acknowledging complex situations, and instead resort to scapegoating and looking at things in a black and white manner. It’s so silly.
Dude needs to show up for work like everybody else if he wants to get paid.
Simmons isn’t built for Zharamay Falls or Care-A-Lot or Adventure Bay let alone Philly.
How about 10th and Lombard? I almost got killed last time I played there.
Best comment in here!
Sooo very true!
They all deserve each other in away.
Can’t make a layup
Can’t make a foul shot
Can’t admit he is a right handed shooter
Can’t come to grips with the fact that he stinks
Actually on Ben’s side here…to an extent. We all know why his teammates called the meeting, and it’s not because they genuinely want Simmons to stay. This was likely a front-office suggested move in order to temporarily patch things up as a means of regaining some leverage. Too bad, Morey.
And what even would be the point of attending a meeting which would have zero impact on the likelihood of Simmons not being traded? He’s gone. Best to not drag this out. Stay separated and let Morey do his job.
His teammates threw him under the bus. And the front office has shown zero true desire to patch things up. End the farce. It is what it is.
I’d take Simmons for 82 rather than Wiggins for 41
I’m pretty sure everybody would…
NBA Central: “I talked to Rich Paul, and Rich Paul was the one who told me, ‘We want out. We want out. And we’ll go to whatever degree we have to go to in order to get out. We want to be anywhere but in Philadelphia.’” – @RealJayWilliams (Via ESPN | h/t Bleacher Report) pic.twitter.com/8TzNQQi1LB –
—————————-
Why would you want this and Maxey and their agent. Anywhere near Philly. Call the Kings now. Knicks will take Ben in a three way, no problema. Well teach him to shoot FTs. That’s all he needs to play the 3. The price will be going down from here.
Kings have best package.
That would be a nasty team if the Knicks could figure out a way to get Simmons without giving up many players. Especially with Thibs improving his defense even more. I can’t blame Rich and Ben wanting out at this point after being thrown under the bus by the entire franchise and fan base.
What this really means here with this scenario is that Ben Simmons HAS BEEN ASKING for a trade for quite a while. Normally an NBA player such as Harden or Anthony Davis would mention to the front office, “hey I’d like to get out of here, find a trade for me” and then they keep playing because they have a contract. I don’t think Ben Simmons is any different.
The fact he’s holding out and reached the end of his rope, and this is a big to do, tells me he’s been asking for a trade for more than a year and because they can’t get their perceived value, they haven’t moved him.
#FreeBenSimmons
Ben must win this situation to put teams in their place!
Remember players are the show!
Sixers did not and DO NOT want Simmons back. They are just posturing to get some value in return when they didnt have his back. Simmons marketability stock has plummeted because of Sixers and deserves fresh start. IF Sixers is not fair to Simmons, no major free agents will want to play for them.
I think you’re right Michol.
This is a business and guys get thrown in trades all the time. It sucks, but players can always find ways to improve their value and find other ways to get better. You can blame the Sixers and Doc for how they portrayed Simmons, but they’re paying him superstar money to perform and he has choked or underperformed. His defense is good, but he has to own his shortcomings. He’s the asset and he changes his value based on how he performs. The organization and his camp need to work it out, but that’s not how Rich Paul has ever worked his narrative. Stop the videos and own the underperforming crap, and say the trade rumors bothered him. That’ll be how Simmons can improve the perception of his character. Then go play ball, and dominate. His position from a talent, contract, character, and performance perspective is bad and that is all on him. You can’t blame the Sixers for all that. If you don’t like the superstar stage then don’t act like one or sign those contracts. That’s pro sports.
Doc doesn’t know how to talk to players so he always sends his other players to go talk to them. Your coaching doesn’t work in the NBA anymore old man stop keeping talented teams from reaching their potential
Yeah blame it on Doc, not on the pampered oh-so-sensitive players in today’s NBA. Give me a break, the coach is there to coach, not to play nursemaid to immature adult men.
Simmons to Wolves for McDaniels, Beasley, Naz, picks