Ben Simmons won’t report to 76ers’ training camp, AP source says

PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons volition not study to Philadelphia 76ers’ grooming campy adjacent week and prefers to proceed his NBA vocation with different team, a idiosyncratic with nonstop cognition of the player’s plans told The Associated Press connected Tuesday.

The idiosyncratic spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity due to the fact that discussions of Simmons’ plans with the franchise person been private. ESPN archetypal reported that Simmons would not report.

Simmons, the No. 1 prime of the 2016 draft, is simply a three-time All-Star who had been paired with Joel Embiid arsenic the franchise cornerstones arsenic the Sixers pursuit their archetypal NBA title since 1983.

Simmons, though, took the brunt of the blasted for the top-seeded Sixers’ second-round exit successful past season’s playoffs. Simmons changeable 34% from the free-throw enactment successful the playoffs and was reluctant to effort a changeable from anyplace connected the level precocious successful games. That led to him spending captious minutes connected the bench.

Simmons conscionable finished the archetypal twelvemonth of a $177 cardinal max deal.

Simmons changeable 25 for 73 (34%) from the enactment successful the playoffs and missed 27 unsocial successful the 2nd circular against the Atlanta Hawks. He is simply a 5-for-34 vocation 3-point shooter implicit 4 NBA seasons.

Asked aft the Game 7 nonaccomplishment if Simmons could inactive beryllium a constituent defender for a title contender, manager Doc Rivers said helium didn’t person an answer.

Embiid besides pointed a digit astatine Simmons for the loss, the comments seemingly creating a rift that volition spot the 25-year-old defender from Australia apt ne'er play a crippled again for the Sixers.

The 76ers are scheduled to person media time connected Monday, with grooming campy opening the adjacent time astatine their analyzable successful Camden, New Jersey.