Ben Simmons Suspended For 76ers vs. Pelicans After Being Kicked Out of Practice
October 19, 2021
In the latest episode of the Ben Simmons saga, the Philadelphia 76ers have suspended their All-Star point guard for one game.
Per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice, Simmons won't play in Wednesday's season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans for conduct detrimental to the team. In addition to the suspension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Simmons was fined $1.4 million for missing four preseason games and has also received "numerous" fines for missing practices and other commitments.
The suspension comes after Simmons was kicked out of practice Tuesday for, according to Wojnarowski, not being engaged with the team:
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium added additional details:
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers addressed the Simmons situation after practice concluded.
"I thought he was a distraction today," Rivers told reporters. "I didn’t think he wanted to do what everyone else was doing. I’m going to give Ben every chance to be part of the team … as a coach I have to protect the team first."
Rivers did add that he expects Simmons will be back with the team if they hold a practice Thursday.
Joel Embiid, whose comments after the 76ers lost Game 7 in the playoffs to the Atlanta Hawks helped spark Simmons' dissatisfaction, did not hesitate to criticize his teammate once again for his effort at practice.
"At the end of the day," he told reporters, "our job is not to babysit somebody."
Embiid added he hasn't talked with Simmons since the veteran point guard reported to training camp last week.
Simmons was initially planning a holdout until the 76ers traded him, but he arrived in Philadelphia last week.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Simmons' arrival at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 11 was a "surprise" to the Sixers organization.
Wojnarowski added the 76ers "scoured the league but never came close to finding a deal that returned them the kind of elite player they'd want in exchange for Simmons."
It's unclear where things between the Sixers and Simmons will go from here. Their first home game is scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Brooklyn Nets.
Simmons is still owed $146.7 million over the next four years on his contract.
The 25-year-old is one of the best two-way guards in the NBA. He averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game in 58 starts last season. The LSU alum has been named to the All-Defensive first team in each of the past two seasons.