Simmons and fans hope solution emerges in near future

The Ben Simmons saga continues as the drama surrounding him escalates more and more as the days go by. 

At his second practice back as a Sixer, after he missed the entirety of training camp, Simmons was asked to leave by head coach Doc Rivers because of conduct that was detrimental to the team. His behavior earned him a suspension from the team for the season opener against the Brooklyn Nets. The following day, Simmons informed the team that he is not mentally ready to rejoin the Sixers or play basketball at all and that he will be out indefinitely. 

Simmons has taken, by far, the most immature way possible to get the point across that he doesn’t want to be a part of the team anymore. At this point, I don’t want him in Philadelphia either. Philadelphia is a passionate sports city that wants its players to be here because they want to be here, not because they have to be. 

Luckily for the Sixers, Simmons’ behavior does not seem to have a major impact on the motivation or unity of the team, according to center Joel Embiid. 

“At this point, I don’t care about that man [Simmons]. Honestly, he does whatever he wants. … our chemistry has been excellent despite everything that has been happening over the last few months,” Embiid said. 

Clearly, Embiid is not holding back his emotions in any way about the Simmons situation. As a fan, it is comforting to see that the team’s players and staff are moving on and forward in a positive light. 

The Ben Simmons era needs to come to an end as soon as possible in Philadelphia. Ultimately, he took a very childish way out and thought he was going to easily force a trade, but General Manager Daryl Morey said that the team will not accept a trade offer that does not return equal value for a player of Simmons’ caliber. Still, the Sixers need to dismiss him from the team and figure out a trade sooner rather than later. 

The longer Simmons remains in Philadelphia, the bigger of a negative impact he will have on the  organization and fans. Sixers fans from everywhere have been patiently waiting for a championship to return back to Philadelphia and this constant struggle and lack of motivation coming from Simmons is toxic and very easily could start to get inside players and coaches heads later on. 

Simmons needs to get out of Philadelphia. The quicker he is out of here, the happier I will be. I am tired of watching and hearing about a player, who originally brought so much hope for the Sixers organization, crash and have this mentality that the world revolves around him.