Ben Simmons cops bombshell ban after practice session fiasco
Ben Simmons has been suspended one game by the Philadelphia 76ers after he was kicked out of practice on Tuesday.
The Aussie star will miss the 76ers' NBA season opener against New Orleans on Wednesday after being banned for what the club described as "conduct detrimental to the team".
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Coach Doc Rivers said he kicked Simmons out of practice after the Australian appeared disinterested.
"I just thought he was a distraction today," Rivers said.
"I didn't think he wanted to do what everybody else was doing.
"I just told him he should leave. We went on with practice."
The three-time All-Star guard was a holdout in training camp in the wake of his off-season trade demand, missing all four of Philadelphia's pre-season games.
Simmons - who has four years left on his current contract - reported back to the club last week and practised on Sunday and Monday with the Sixers.
However he lingered outside the team's huddle, dribbled a basketball and looked disinterested at Monday's practice, where he did not feature with the first team.
He was also spotted with his mobile phone in his pocket during the session.
The Australian star had initially been set to speak to media on Tuesday but was not available for interviews following his ejection.
Ben Simmons really “practiced” with a cell phone in his pocket??? Holy hell. Such IDGAF attitude I almost respect it. pic.twitter.com/5U4cOLEcvv
— Smitty (@SmittyBarstool) October 18, 2021
Joel Embiid blasts Ben Simmons fiasco
Rivers said Simmons was welcome to return to practice.
"Every day, every single moment, I'm going to give Ben a chance to join the team and be part of the team," Rivers said.
"(But) at the end of the day as a coach I have to protect the team.
"Team first, and then we get to the other part. Today I thought it was more important to focus on the team."
Superstar teammate Joel Embiid had much stronger words for Simmons.
"At this point I don't care about that man, honestly. He does whatever he wants," Embiid said.
"I'm focused on making the team better, win some games, play hard every night, try to lead the guys that we have here.
"At the end of the day, our job is not to babysit somebody."
Simmons averaged 14.3 points, 6.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds in 58 games last season.
He averaged just 11.9 points in the playoffs while shooting a dismal 34.2 per cent from the free-throw line.
ESPN Sources: The 76ers have fined Ben Simmons $1.4M for his absence from four preseason games (360K each) and levied numerous team fines for missed practices, on-court workouts and meetings. He hasn’t earned any money since returning to the team on October 11.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 19, 2021
with AAP
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