Ben Simmons, a former member of the Philadelphia 76ers, provides some insight into how many teammates failed to offer him help when he was experiencing mental health issues.
He went on ‘The old and and the three” podcast with his former team mate JJ Redick and said “I was in such a bad place where I was like, f—, I’m trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you’re not helping. And that’s all I wanted, was help,”
Simmons joined the Brooklyn Nets in February as part of a blockbuster trade and the 76ers’ got James Harden and Paul Millsap. Simmons encouraged Philadelphia to trade him after the 2020–21 season, but he did not play for either team during the 2021–22 campaign after having back surgery in April.
Before, joining the Nets Ben said he didn’t feel like himself during his five seasons with Philadelphia.
Doc Rivers, Ben’s coach, removed him from the practice field because he disobeyed orders to stand in for a drill despite being repeatedly requested to do so. He was then suspended for acting in a way that hurt the squad.
He mentioned in the podcast with Redick that he spoke to the coach before practice and said “I actually spoke to Doc before practice. I was like, ‘Doc, I’m not ready. Mentally, I’m not ready. Please just understand that,'” ‘Well, I’m going to put you in anyway.’ I’m like, ‘All right.’ He told me to get in. I looked at him. It was like one minute into practice, like, ‘Ben, get in.’ Coach Rivers was doing it on purpose even though Simmons repeatedly told him he wasn’t ready.
“I’m like, first of all, no one’s doing that. You’re doing this on purpose. And that’s how I felt, too. It seems like everyone’s trying to f— with me now. I’m getting fined for not lifting weights, but physically I’m one of the strongest guys on the f—ing team.
So now they’re fining me for little things. It was just a buildup. Obviously, I didn’t handle things the right way, but, also, the team didn’t either, and the people who had that power.” “I don’t care about the money,” Simmons told Redick. “It’s not about the money for me now. I want peace and happiness. I want to be in a good place, and if that costs me whatever it’s going to cost, that’s what it costs. My peace is more valuable than money.” $20 million was withheld from Simmons, they reached a settlement that a portion of it will be given to All star player according to ESPN sources.
He is expected to be prepared to join new teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the opening of training camp with the Nets later this month. “It’s going to be sick. I can’t wait,” Ben said on the podcast. “I’m so excited. Got a new number, new jersey. I’m just looking forward to it. I think we have a special team. I think if we get it all together, we’re going to be the champions. That’s the end goal.”
