Ben Simmons has been suspended by his team, 76ers, after he was kicked out of practice by 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, TMZ reports.
According to the report by TMZ Ben Simmons will miss the team’s first game of the season on Wednesday night against the Pelicans.
The 25-year-old Simmons was reported to have unexpectedly shown up to the Sixers’ arena last week, after an off-season filled with trade demands. But it seems everything was not cool at the camp of 76ers, TMZ report added.
Ben Simmons practised with the team on Monday, but looked miserable playing with his phone in his pocket, and walking away while his teammates huddled.
According to Woj, Rivers tossed Simmons out of practice this morning, and the team slapped him with a 1-game suspension for “detrimental conduct.”
Doc met with the media after practice and said, “I thought [Simmons] was a distraction today. I told him, ‘You should leave Ben.’”
When asked why he was allowing Simmons to be with the rest of the team, Rivers said it’s because he’s ultimately a good player who can help the Sixers win games.
“At this point I don’t care about that man”
Doc may be in a mood to make things work, but it’s clear Joel Embiid, the teams best player, isn’t feelin’ Simmons right now.
After practice, Embiid told reporters “At this point I don’t care about that man, honestly. He does whatever he wants.”
Simmons who is a 3x All-Star, had an awful postseason last year, clearly hesitant to shoot the ball, and missing a ton of free throws.
Given today’s incident, the drama doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.