After an NBA off-season full of Ben Simmons’ future with the Philadelphia 76ers looming in the darkness, it was recently reported that the 25-year old returned to the team’s practice session. For a moment, it felt as if everything was good in the City of Brotherly Love.
However, earlier today, it was revealed that Simmons was thrown out of the practice session. According to former NBC Sports Philadelphia reporter Serena Winters, 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers felt that Australian athlete was a “distraction” and asked him to leave the arena.
“Doc Rivers on Ben Simmons: “He was a distraction today, I didn’t think he wanted to do what everybody else was doing. It was early, it wasn’t a big deal. I just told him, he should leave then, and we went on with practice.” Winters tweeted.
Seeing Simmons join his teammates in the gym had gotten a lot of his fans excited. Many even felt that this was the beginning of a new era for the southpaw and his connection with his teammates and the coaching staff.
However, the images from the practice session quickly surfaced on the internet, and the blank expression on the 6’11’’ point guard’s face was enough to explain that there was trouble in paradise.
For his behaviour on Tuesday, Simmons is now facing a one-game suspension levied upon him by the Sixers. This essentially means that the star athletes will be missing out on their Season Opener against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
Rivers’ relationship with Simmons began to get sour very shortly after the end of the 76ers’ Playoff run during the 2020-2021 season when the coach was asked whether he feels that Simmons was going to be the point guard for a championship-caliber team. “I don't even know how to answer that right now,” Rivers had said.
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