ESPN Writer Reveals Ben Simmons' Planned Public Message During Offseason

The Philadelphia 76ers anticipated Ben Simmons' absence when the team fired up their offseason activities back in the fall. As Simmons told the team during the summertime that he has no interest in returning and would hold out until a trade comes to life, his absence on the first day of training camp was hardly a surprise.

Simmons missed all of the preseason but returned to the team a couple of days before the preseason finale. As expected, Simmons was not cleared to play in the final game as he was ruled out for re-conditioning purposes.

The All-Star returned to practice with the team a few days ahead of the 2021-2022 season opener. At that point, Simmons had yet to speak publicly since demanding a trade from the 76ers. With three straight days of practice left before the team left for New Orleans, Simmons was expected to address the media on one of those days.

After his first practice, Simmons declined to speak and left the gym right when the team concluded their session. On the second day, the situation was the same. Simmons was slated to talk finally after his third practice, but the All-Star guard instead left the gym early as he was instructed to by Doc Rivers.

Describing Simmons as a distraction to the team after refusing to participate in a defensive drill, Rivers booted Simmons from the session, which netted him a suspension ahead of the season-opener. 

If Simmons were to address the media that day, what would he have said?

An Idea of the Statement

As usual, Simmons was reportedly going to keep his public statement short and sweet. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the All-Star and his representatives worked on a statement that was along the lines of this:

"I'm not in a great place mentally. I don't feel comfortable playing in this environment and I'm looking forward to a change of scenery."

Simmons' desire to be traded was and is far from a secret. Therefore, the star guard making a public statement mentioning the idea that he would like a fresh start is hardly shocking.

Although the Sixers continue to hope Simmons changes his mind and returns to play for them, nothing has changed at this point. More than halfway through the season, Simmons remains off the court. And as the likelihood of Simmons getting traded this season is low, so is the possibility of him returning to the court this year.

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