Simmons situation ‘moving very much in a positive direction’ – Morey

Simmons
is
yet
to
feature
for
the
76ers
this
NBA
season,
sitting
out
games
against
the
New
Orleans
Pelicans,
Brooklyn
Nets
and
Oklahoma
City
Thunder,
having
sought
a
trade
following
the
team’s
shock
playoff
exit
to
the
Atlanta
Hawks
in
2020-21.

After
being
suspended
for
the
season
opener
due
to
“conduct
detrimental
to
the
team”,
Simmons
met
with
head
coach
Doc
Rivers,
star
Joel
Embiid
and
the
team
last
week,
notifying
Philadelphia
he
was
not
mentally
ready
to
play
and
needed
time
to
step
away.

Morey
provided
an
update
on
Simmons,
who
has
reportedly
attracted
interest
from
the
likes
of
the
Minnesota
Timberwolves,
Golden
State
Warriors,
Indiana
Pacers,
Cleveland
Cavaliers
and
Portland
Trail
Blazers.

“Ben
came
in
at
the
end
of
last
week
and
said
he
had
back
stiffness,
and
he’s
dealing
with
some
personal
reasons
off
the
court,”
Morey
told
NBC
Sports.

“Both
[the
Sixers]
take
very
seriously.
We’re
working
with
Ben
to
provide
every
resource
to
help
him
with
what
is
needed.
And
he
spoke
to
his
team-mates;
things
seem
to
be
moving
very
much
in
a
positive
direction.

“We’re
gonna
provide
all
the
resources
and
get
Ben
what
he
needs
and
get
him
out
there
as
soon
as
we
can.
We’re
taking
it
day
by
day,
getting
Ben
what
he
needs.

“He’ll
probably
be
doing
individual
workouts
while
he
works
through
this
and
working
through
everything
that
we
can
help
him
with
and
hope
to
get
him
back
out
there
as
soon
as
he’s
ready.”

Simmons
–
an
elite
defender
who
signed
a
five-year,
$177.2million
contract
extension
in
2019
–
and
his
shooting
problems
were
laid
bare
during
the
2021
postseason
with
the
top-seeded
76ers,
who
were
eliminated
in
the
semi-finals.

The
25-year-old
had
no
fourth-quarter
field-goal
attempts
in
his
last
four
games
of
the
playoffs
against
the
Hawks
last
season.
He
is
the
only
NBA
player
in
the
last
20
seasons
to
have
four
consecutive
postseason
games
with
no
field-goal
attempts
in
the
fourth
quarter
during
a
season
in
which
he
was
an
All-Star,
according
to
Stats
Perform.

Simmons
averaged
just
10.1
field-goal
attempts
in
2020-21
–
a
career
low,
which
dropped
to
7.9
in
the
playoffs.
It
was
the
same
story
with
his
scoring
as
it
dropped
to
a
career-worst
14.3
points
per
game
and
11.9
in
the
postseason
–
both
career
lows.

Then
there
is
Simmons
and
free
throws.
He
was
exposed
by
rival
teams
as
they
regularly
sent
him
to
the
line,
with
the
Melbourne-born
guard
making
just
25
of
73
shots
in
the
2020-21
playoffs.
His
34.2
free-throw
percentage
is
the
lowest
ever
in
a
single
postseason.