Ben Simmons speaks

For the first time since his post-Game 7 presser against the Atlanta Hawks last season, former Philadelphia 76er and new Brooklyn Net Ben Simmons spoke to reporters today.

Immediately following that loss, of course, Simmons demanded a trade out of Philadelphia. Then, he and his agency commenced with doing their talking through a slew of sourced leaks throughout the media over the ensuing months. But Tuesday was the public’s first opportunity to hear from Simmons directly after all this unpleasantness between he and the Sixers transpired.

Here is some of what he had to say.

There has been a constant back-and-forth online about Philadelphia fans and mental health, and how it all relates to Simmons. I am not interested in wading into that here. Moving on!

Simmons’ reserved nature in discussing what in the world actually happened in Philadelphia shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to us all. Since he’s been in the league, Simmons has been famously reserved in the media, holding most fans, teammates and media members at an arms’ length.

To think he would now open up with what precisely led to his discontent in Philly would be naive, so his non-answers here were expected by those paying close attention.

And, finally (in addition to confirming that he’s had no contact with Joel Embiid since the trade):

So do we, Ben. So do we.