The saga between Philadelphia 76ers star guard Ben Simmons of Melbourne, Australia and the 76ers organization is continuing. Only a few days after being fined $360,000 for missing the 76ers game against the Detroit Pistons (a 109-98 Philadelphia win from last Thursday), Simmons agreed to meet with a 76ers’ mental health specialist on Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The meeting came after the 76ers were “testing the validity of his pursuit of mental health assistance” according to Shams Charania of the Athletic.
What makes this whole situation puzzling is that Simmons had worked with mental health professionals approved by the National Basketball Association Players’ Association according to Noah Levick of NBC Sports, but was not providing information to the 76ers about the mental health meetings. Simmons had been fined prior to October 22, when he told his teammates he was having mental health issues.
There has been significant conflict between Simmons and the 76ers for months and ever since Simmons’s unproductive play for Philadelphia against the Atlanta Hawks in the final three games of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. It seems after every passing day, that Simmons is less and less likely to return to the Philadelphia 76ers lineup.
Before the season even started, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers kicked Simmons out of practice, and suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team. Simmons was then also fined $1.4 million.
Simmons has yet to play for the 76ers this season, and it appears Philadelphia might be finally anxious in making a move. One possible team interested are the Boston Celtics, who are in last place in the Atlantic Division at the moment at four wins and six losses. The 76ers lead the Atlantic Division with a record of eight wins and four losses.
