Ben Simmons' Cryptic Tweet Causes Confusion Amid Trade Rumors

The NBA officially back! With trade rumors heating up as the regular season inches closer, it's the time of the year when NBA fans from all over start digging way too deep into social media activity and emoji use.

For the last few weeks, Houston Rockets star James Harden has been the player everybody has been paying attention to as he requested a trade last month. On Thursday night, rumors began flying that the Philadelphia 76ers and the Houston Rockets discussed a possible trade, including James Harden.

Before Thursday, there were never any reports hinting at the possibility of the Sixers trading away Ben Simmons for Harden -- but that changed as a series of reports sparked up rumors on Thursday night.

Also in story: While the Sixers have signaled a willingness to include All-Star guard Ben Simmons in trade packages for Harden, those talks have come nowhere close to a deal, sources said. https://t.co/bbP3k3uNci
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 17, 2020

The Philadelphia 76ers have made Ben Simmons available in some packages with the Houston Rockets for James Harden, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Conversations aren't fluid as of now.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 17, 2020

Hours after reports surfaced regarding the Sixers' "willingness" to include Simmons in a possible trade for Harden, 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, spoke out on the situation, reiterating that Ben Simmons isn't going anywhere.

“We are not trading Ben Simmons — he is an important part of our future.”

Then on Friday morning Ben Simmons sent out what's being considered a cryptic tweet. As trade rumors regarding Simmons continue to go around, many are buying into the idea that Simmons is reacting to the news in an angry fashion.

😤
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) December 18, 2020

However, there's nothing to see here. Not only is Simmons not reacting to trade rumors cryptically online like this, but the two-time All-Star actually tweets out the same emoji before every game.

On Tuesday night, Simmons sent out the same tweet hours before the Sixers took on the Boston Celtics for their first preseason game of the year. They'll take the court once again for their second and final preseason game against the Indiana Pacers on Friday. The timing of the tweet is interesting, but again, there is nothing to see here.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_