Most of the time, not participating in a team’s post-game huddle would not be cause for alarm. For Ben Simmons, though, all of his actions count, even the ones that wouldn’t normally matter.
After spending all summer working on a trade from Philadelphia, he was forced back to the team after being faced with the reality of losing millions of dollars.
But just because Ben is back, doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.
While Simmons has yet to make his feelings known to the public, a video of Sixers practice made its way online, where one reporter noted Simmons’ curious behavior during the team huddle.
Although Doc Rivers tells me the “chemistry” with @BenSimmons25 and his teammates is getting better everyday, I can tell you he did NOT put his hand in the team huddle to end practice and stayed in the back before immediately exiting the court while others stay out shooting pic.twitter.com/i2sBAoEHO2
— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) October 18, 2021
Here’s the video, which shows Ben choosing to distance himself from the team huddle.
Here’s @BenSimmons25 (in the back) not participating in the post-practice huddle with the @sixers before quickly exiting the floor @6abc @espn @NBATV #sixers #bensimmons pic.twitter.com/2uq7YAu5E1
— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) October 18, 2021
Naturally, this whole thing became its own controversy. To some, Simmons not being with his team for the huddle means absolutely nothing and it’s really not worth trying to go any deeper into it.
For others, though, it’s a clear sign as to where his head is at. After months of trying to get traded, and burning plenty of bridges along the way, it makes sense that he would be mentally checked out.
No matter what you believe about the video, it is proof of what happens when you leave people to speculate and guess about your motives.
Since Simmons has not explained his side of the story, or even said anything about how he feels about being back, nobody really knows what to think.
For now, we’re just going to have to watch and see how it all plays out. Will he continue to build chemistry with his team? Will he keep himself at a distance?
The longer he remains in Philly, the more questions people are going to have. One way or another, Ben is going to have to address them.
