On February 2, Beijing time, ESPN famous ramona Shelburne wrote a long article reporting on Ben Simmons' recent situation. Simmons has been vaccinated against the new crown, and the cumulative fines imposed on him by 76 people have reached $19 million, but Simmons is not distressed. The specific reasons for his dissatisfaction with Embiid and Rivers were exposed. Coach Rivers responded to the various insider reports from Shelburne.
When Simmons first returned to Philadelphia, he was not vaccinated. So he had to do a nucleic acid test every time he went to the team's stadium, and later, he was vaccinated. The news caused a stir because Simmons, unlike Irving, refused to be vaccinated, which would undoubtedly increase the likelihood that he would trade more.
In addition, the 76ers have already fined Simmons $19 million ($360,000 per game) and are expected to be fined another $12 million if his situation continues until the end of the season. Sources in the Simmons camp revealed that he was not distressed, even dismissive, about the fine, but he also expressed his dissatisfaction because he had explained his mental health problems to the team and was willing to accept treatment from a psychologist, but the team was not soft on the fine. Simmons' mindset hasn't changed, and he still doesn't plan to play for the 76ers.
Shelburne reported that Simmons was unhappy with both Embiid and Rivers. The reason for the dissatisfaction with Embiid is that after last season's playoff loss, Embiid blamed simmons for the failure, and when the 76ers were eliminated by the Raptors in 2019, Simmons did not blame Embiid, who only averaged 17.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in that series, shooting only 37%.
The reason Simmons was unhappy with Rivers was his remarks at a press conference, when he said he wasn't sure Simmons was a defender for a championship team. In addition, Rivers did not travel to Los Angeles to meet him in the offseason. Simmons doesn't deny that He didn't return when Rivers texted him to ask for a meeting, but he thinks Rivers and the 76ers could have done more, such as showing up at his gym. Rivers responded to this part of the Shelburne report in an interview with the media.
"I've always supported Ben (Simmons) and I hope he's all right... "I've always told my players that respect is a two-way street, especially for young people. You can't expect yourself to ignore us or not listen to what we say, but ask us to behave differently about you. People have to learn to respect each other in order to succeed in life. Rivers's words were obviously addressed to Simmons.