The Ben Simmons saga remains one of the hottest topics in the league right now. After a couple of months where he refused to return to the team, meet with teammates, and more, the player finally returned to the franchise last week.
He participated in practices, where he looked anything but pleased to be there. Simmons was expected to talk with media members at 12 PM ET today, but plans have changed.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the 76ers decided to suspend the player for one game.
76ers have suspended Ben Simmons for one game due to conduct detrimental to the team.
Simmons has been suspended by the 76ers for their season opener in New Orleans on Wednesday. https://t.co/7EwmorroUi
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2021
This means he won’t play in the team’s season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. There was some hope that he’d play for the team tomorrow, but that’s off the table now.
Doc Rivers recently claimed he doesn’t think Simmons is in game shape yet, which could also explain why he wouldn’t play tomorrow night. Ben has been making headlines since the Sixers were eliminated from the 2021 NBA playoff, and nothing has changed since that moment.
Keith Pompey adds that Rivers threw Simmons out of practice today, which led to his suspension.
Ben Simmons was kicked out of today’s practice for no being engaged, according to sources. #Sixers
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) October 19, 2021
Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of his tenure in Philly. Perhaps this will lead him to explode like James Harden in January to finally get out of the Wells Fargo Center, or this could be a good reason for him to do things right, keep practicing, and help his team.
However, the second scenario looks unlikely. This probably will light something inside Simmons and he won’t have more desire to play with the franchise (if he ever had any).
