Yesterday, we did a quick roundup on Ben Simmons and all the new updates that came pouring in. It’s been a pretty quiet morning for Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers. As everyone sits around and waits for any type of news regarding the latest on Ben Simmons, it looks like there was a key point of yesterday’s Bleacher Report article from Jake Fischer that was somewhat overlooked. 

Here’s a key piece of the article, that describes the frustration from Doc Rivers and the 76ers organization with Ben Simmons and Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul when Rivers, Morey, and Brand met with Rich Paul and Ben Simmons in Los Angeles. 

“Dating back to those Combine dialogues, Philadelphia was adamant in its plans to withhold Simmons’ pay for not complying with the terms of the five-year, $170-plus million agreement he signed in July 2019. Later, at Paul’s home, Rivers even shouted, “It’s in your f–king contract” to report and play for Philadelphia, sources told B/R.”

Everything that the 76ers organization has said and done so far has been great. They have handled this entire situation perfectly and stood their ground. The contract is the contract. The 76ers are enforcing it. This also shows that the reports regarding Rich Paul and Ben Simmons camp unaware of money being held from Ben Simmons was simply untrue. They definitely knew that the money wasn’t going to be going to Ben Simmons. Of course, that story won’t be retracted or updated. The media stinks. 

Fischer also continued to say that Doc Rivers and Ben Simmons never really developed a great relationship last year, which I actually find puzzling. 

“By all accounts, the head coach, a former point guard, has never managed to build a strong rapport with Simmons. Perhaps that’s due to the additional demands coaches typically place on their nominal floor generals, or it may simply be a case of two differing personalities in a competitive industry failing to mesh.”

As we all know, Ben Simmons is an introvert and his history shows that he’s not the most outgoing, social person, which could cause some issues when trying to communicate with him. That’s totally fine and I think we can all understand that type of person.

However, Doc Rivers, since the second he stepped foot in Philadelphia, defended Ben Simmons, and basically lashed out at reporters who questioned Simmons not shooting and how that could hurt the team in the playoffs. 

It almost feels like we’re missing something in regards to their relationship. Everything we have seen from Doc Rivers would indicate that he was probably the biggest supporter of Ben Simmons in the city of Philadelphia last year. The latest from Rivers indicates that he’s still not really sure if Ben Simmons is going to play, but “assumes” that he will.

There haven’t been any new updates today and Ben Simmons is in COVID-19 protocol, practicing in isolation for the next five days. From there, if he is an active member of the 76ers roster, he will have to face the media, which would be next Friday. 

It’s going to be a crazy week or two with this Ben Simmons stuff. Grab your popcorn. The entire situation is something the sports world has never really seen.