Ben Simmons isn’t willing to listen to his soon-to-be-former teammates.
Reports over the weekend revealed that Simmons told his Philadelphia 76ers teammates not to bother coming out to Los Angeles to meet and go over things with him, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. That included the rest of the Sixers’ core in Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid.
Their hopes were that they could potentially talk Simmons into rescinding his trade request after reports last week confirmed that the All-Star point guard will not report to training camp and does not intend to play for the 76ers ever again.
It has created an immovable grudge match between star player and organization as the 76ers were unable to trade Simmons in previous years — including earlier in 2021 while attempting to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets.
Now, with just a few weeks before the start of the 2021-22 season, the Sixers could either try to scramble to trade Simmons or prepare to levy a series of fines and suspensions to punish the player should he follow up on his promise of not reporting to training camp.
Meanwhile, the oddsmakers have already broken down where Simmons could be playing his basketball next season should he receive his wish and get dealt elsewhere.
Here is what DraftKings came up with:
- Minnesota Timberwolves +400
- Houston Rockets +450
- Sacramento Kings +600
- San Antonio Spurs +800
- Golden State Warriors +800
- Toronto Raptors +800
- Portland Trail Blazers +1100
- Oklahoma City Thunder +1400
- Washington Wizards +1600
- Cleveland Cavaliers +1600
