Almost a year ago, the Nets made a sensational deal with the Rockets, and they got James Harden, meaning the 76ers' All-Star guard Ben Simmons will remain on the team.
"I mean, that's business." Simmons said at the time, "Things like that happen a lot, and the only thing I can control is, you know, train hard, play well, day in and day out." So, you know, I try to stay professional, do the right thing, and help the team win. ”
The quote above comes from the aftermath of the 76ers' home game against the Heat on Jan. 14, 2021. On December 15, 2021, the Heat visited Philadelphia again, but this time, Simmons did not play. Instead, the situation changed abruptly, first Simmons asked the team to trade him in the offseason, and then he took controversial confrontational actions for more than three months to put pressure on the team to complete the deal as soon as possible.
2021 has been a chaotic year, and of course, for the 76ers, it's nothing new in recent seasons. But if you want to see how Simmons and the team got to this point, you don't need to go back to the time when the team negotiated the Harden deal, just look at this past spring, the 76ers are once again out of the playoffs.
"I'm going to win here," Simmons said in response to criticism of him
Simmons, 25, who played well in the first round of the playoffs with the Washington Wizards on May 26, responded to questions about him.
In this game, Simmons had 22 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists without playing in the fourth quarter, and the 76ers led 2-0.
G1, Simmons had 15 rebounds and 15 assists, but only scored 6 points. Such an uneven performance caused a negative reaction, especially in Philadelphia. Manager Rivers came out to the fans and shouted, "If you don't know the wealth you have yet, then I'm sorry for all of you." ”
Simmons said, "I think it's quite hard to get 15 rebounds and 15 assists in the NBA playoffs, and I think it's amazing enough, and we won." What more do you want? Do you really want to win? For me, I'm just going to win here, and in order to win, I'm going to do whatever the team needs me to do, whatever it is. I don't play to prove someone wrong, I play to win. ”
June 1: G4,76ers lose to wizards. Rivers defended his decision to keep Simmons on the field in the final minutes of the game. In this game, the Wizards deliberately fouled Simmons 4 times, 3 of which were in the last 2 minutes. "You want me to replace Simmons?" I won't. Rivers said after the game.
June 7: A day after G1 loss to the Hawks in the second round of the playoffs, Rivers says he has mastered plenty of video clips to prove that Simmons was unfairly blown by the referee. 1 day later, they beat the Eagles in G2 and Embiid scored 40 points.
June 12: In the first half of G3's win over the Hawks, Simmons put all his efforts into the defensive end. Rivers asked him to do more, "We thought he was giving up too many opportunities in the quick attack and position battles, and we told him to stand up and play more." He did a great job and it was exactly what we needed. ”
G7 lost, playoffs out, Simmons back the pot
After the team's playoff exit, Simmons was blamed for his historicly poor performances at the free throw line and his struggles on the offensive end.
After losing 96-103 to the Hawks in a tie-7, Simmons said, "I didn't do well on free throws in this series, and unfortunately, I'm not in form. I didn't get enough support for my teammates... I still have a lot to work on. ”
He was particularly unreliable in the late part of the game, with 7 games in the series, four of which he didn't even make a single shot in the fourth quarter.
In the series with the Hawks, Simmons shot 33 percent from the free throw line (15 of 45) and shot 34.2 percent throughout the two-round series. Of all players in NBA playoff history who have more than 70 free throws, Simmons has the lowest shooting percentage.
In the final moments of G7, Simmons chose to pass the ball in the face of a large open dunk opportunity, and this mysterious operation is also the epitome of his poor projection of this series.
June 21: Simmons' ability to improve his projection ability in the offseason has become an annual discussion among Philadelphia fans. Less than 24 hours after the 76ers' season, Rivers said "this summer has been different for Simmons." It's not easy to practice shooting, but there's no doubt Simmons can. ”
June 24: During the NBA draft, Simmons' agent Rich Paul meets with the 76ers' management in Chicago to discuss the future of Simmons and the team.
June 28: Simmons informs the Australian men's basketball team that he will not be playing in olympic basketball tournaments in Tokyo, Japan. The week before, sources said that "Simmons is unlikely to compete in the Olympics because he will focus on improving his skills." ”
September 1: Embiid denies reports of his feud with Simmons and tweets back and forth that he enjoys playing with Simmons in Philadelphia. "Don't waste someone else's time with my name. I hope everyone can come back, our squad is good and we can win. ”
Source: Simmons won't be reporting, he's done with the team
Sources say Simmons won't report to training camp and he won't play games for the 76ers again. Simmons wanted to be traded and leave Philadelphia, where he told 76ers management he would never wear an NBA jersey again until he was traded to another team.
During a meeting in Los Angeles at the end of August, Simmons explained his position to team owners and management, and that he had not had a direct conversation with the 76ers' management for weeks, the sources said.
Simmons has four years left on his top salary contract of $147 million, including $33 million for the 2021-22 season. The contract stipulates that he can receive 50% of his salary by October 1.
After the playoffs were out, at Simmons' request, the 76ers discussed his trade across the league, but they weren't happy with the offers made by other teams, and then they decided to keep him and hoped that Simmons could play after the season started and boost his trade value through on-court performance.
September 22: "Well, I hope we can change his mind." Speaking about the team's hopes of convincing Simmons to stay, Rivers said, "That's part of our job. After the G7 loss to the Hawks, the rift between Simmons and the team has been revealed. After the series, Rivers was credited with saying something like, "With Simmons as the starting point guard on the team, I'm not sure the 76ers can win the championship." Asked what he had to say about it, Rivers said, "Actually, that's not what I said." I did answer when a guy asked, but now I'm not going to respond to that again. I don't even know how to respond. So, what I'm saying right now is not a response to that thing. That had nothing to do with Simmons. ”
September 22: Warriors owner Lacob is fined $50,000 for violating the league's recruitment rules. Lacob's interview with the San Francisco Chronicle led to suspicion that they were interested in getting Ben Simmons. "In some ways, it doesn't really fit what we're doing."
Sept. 27: 76ers management says the situation of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers proves that the relationship between the team and the disgruntled stars can be reversed, so they still have hopes for a reconciliation between the team and Simmons. "I think there's a lot of hope," the 76ers management said at a press conference at the opening ceremony of the new season.
September 30: Embiid describes Simmons' situation as "disappointing" and "nearly disrespectful" to the rest of the team's players. Embiid's comments were written as a report by reporters, and Simmons felt that his relationship with Embiid had "come to an end."
Oct. 1: 76 people fail to pay Simmons $8.25 million in salary — 25 percent of the contract amount — and transfer the money to a custodial account. As the season progresses, they will deduct Simmons' accumulating fines from this account. (If Simmons returns, he will be able to get the money left in this account.) ）
October 11: Discussions about Simmons' return to the team heat up. 76ers management, Rivers and Rich Paul are talking about a solution to get Simmons back to the team. Simmons will soon meet with team officials, something he hasn't done since that meeting in August.
October 11: Rivers reiterates the team's hope that Simmons will play and that his teammates will welcome him when he returns. Before the preseason game against the Nets, Rivers said "we've been saying that since day one."
Oct. 15: Simmons passes the league's health and safety agreement, but he won't play the final game of the preseason against the Detroit Pistons. Simmons' absence was listed as a "daily watch" by the team, and he did not travel with the team to Detroit.
Simmons trained with the team, and whether the opener will play is unknown
Rivers tried to deal with Simmons' return in a cooler way, and he wanted to start with a joke to introduce Simmons to the team, just as coaches usually do with players who return to the team with long absences.
"That's the way it is," Rivers said on Oct. 17. The problem is, this is not an ordinary return from injury or some other reason. Simmons practiced with the team on Sunday, his first time facing his teammates after making a trade request. In other words, he reluctantly put on the 76ers jersey he said he would never wear again and trained with his teammates who had said he wouldn't want to play together again.
Asked if it was embarrassing for Simmons to return to the team and train with everyone, Tobias Harris joked: "No, everything is fine. ”
In Wednesday's season opener with the Pelicans, Simmons' form remains to be determined. "When he's ready, he'll fight." Rivers said.
October 19: Miki Ramona publishes an updated report in which she says that although Simmons has returned to the team, the stalemate with the team is far from over. A person familiar with the matter revealed that after these things happened, it was uncertain whether Simmons could face the team and fans.
October 19: After training, the team announces that Simmons has been suspended for acting harmful to the team, and the suspension is a day after the team's season opener against the Pelicans. After Simmons was banned from the team, Embiid said he hadn't spoken to Simmons yet, and claimed it wasn't his job to be a babysitter for someone else.
Oct. 20: Rivers says the usual typical opening day joy in the case of the team's suspension of Simmons is much less. "We were in a bit of an awkward situation and there was no fun in that part. We're starting the game now and Simmons isn't, and I want him to play, that's his job too. "Old Li said the experience was not something he wanted to celebrate." I don't think people understand... You want your players to play well and you'll cheer for them. When they go through a difficult situation, you want everything to be okay. Of course you will. ”
Oct. 21: Simmons left the gym without training and is expected to meet with team management the next morning to discuss his appearance again, sources said. Simmons told team staff he had back discomfort and received simple treatment. In a radio interview, 76ers management reiterated that they were in no hurry to trade Simmons. "You know, it's going to take a long time, maybe 4 years. Our demands for trade returns won't change, Embiid is at his peak, or Simmons comes back to play and help us win the title, or we have to trade him to get players who can do that. The process could be 4 years and we will of course choose the best deal we can get. ”
Oct. 21: Philadelphia Eagles veteran Jason Kelce gives Simmons some advice: "I don't want to destroy any players, but, Simmons, these things that happened to the 76ers are all due to a lack of responsibility, no admitting mistakes and correcting ,......, so everyone can be fucked and complain about how tough this city is." Play a little better, man, the city will love you. ”
Simmons told the 76ers he wasn't mentally ready
Sources revealed that on October 22 Simmons told the team that he was mentally unprepared to play and needed to be away for a while, and that he planned to meet with medical experts for a psychological assessment.
Simmons met with manager Rivers, team doctor and teammates separately, and then he will begin a process that will delay his season debut. After he told the team doctor why he needed to ask for help, the team reportedly provided him with all the necessary resources to help him. The team officially announced that Simmons will miss the team's Friday game against the Nets for personal reasons.
The 76ers have fined Simmons nearly $2 million for missing games, training and team meetings. There is a provision in the collective agreement that protects a player's salary, "If a player is unable to provide services due to mental illness, the team cannot fine him." ”
Oct. 23: After the 76ers' loss to the Nets, Tobias Harris defended Simmons, "Now it's time for us to respect his privacy, give him some space, and be with him as he goes through this." It's easy to make all sorts of guesses about some of the superficial phenomena you see, and ask them to be the right thing for athletes... Now, he needs more support and as a team we have to spend this time with him and I convey that to the team as well. ”
November 2: Sources reveal that the 76ers are increasingly disappointed that Simmons has refused to accept the team's help to treat his psychological problems. Simmons works with team doctors to treat minor back injuries, but he's also treating psychological problems through other mental health experts in the players' union.
November 5: The 76ers fined Simmons $360,000 for missing the team's win over the Pistons and plan to continue fining him until he is treated by team doctors for his psychological problems and meets other rules on the team's basketball side, the sources said.
November 8: After the initial confrontation, Simmons will meet with the team's medical experts recommended for him to discuss his psychological problems, sources reveal. Simmons met with the team's medical experts after regular basketball activities with the coach and teammates.
Lillard will not be in Simmons' deal negotiations
Lillard was on their list of potentials as the 76ers explored a trade with Simmons, however, the Trail Blazers reiterated on Dec. 10 that Lillard would not enter the deal talks.
Still, the 76ers' involvement in deal talks with Simmons at its core has increased. The 76ers have been aggressively facilitating a 2-team or 3-team deal to get a player in the league's top 25.
The Trail Blazers remain open to trades for Simmons with CJ McCollum at its core, but such a trade conversation has never piqued the interest of the 76ers.
The January meeting remained unsettled
On January 12, 2022, Simmons' agent Rich Paul met with the 76ers management to discuss simmons and the team's situation.
However, neither side's position has changed: Simmons' debut this season remains far away, and the 76ers management has not relaxed its offer for Simmons' trade. Less than a month before the NBA's 2022 deal deadline, the 76ers' offer for Simmons has left potential deals even more out of reach.
(Nanshan)