Following another early playoff exit, the Philadelphia 76ers are facing a lot of questions about their future.
Now, more than ever before, there are doubts about the potential of their stars and the direction of the franchise as a whole.
And while several reports say the team is resisting the temptation to trade Simmons, another, more recent rumor claims Simmons and the Sixers have had co communication at all over the past few weeks.
“I’m not gonna write this in the story, but I’ll tell this to you guys and you guys can do what you want with it,” said NBA insider Jake Fischer. “They haven’t been able to really even get in touch with Ben since the season ended. Like, there was an intent to have a workout plan or whatever — like in any offseason. That’s always kind of been the case, that the Sixers haven’t been able to align with a development plan [for Ben] — that’s kind of what Yaron Weitzman wrote at Fox Sports in that big story. It just doesn’t sound like there’s ever been movement to come together on the same page to do that, and it hasn’t really worked this summer either. I think that’s not something that’s an encouraging sign for him being in Philadelphia in the future.”
Simmons' career reached a bit of a breaking point this offseason. Throughout the playoffs, his offensive limitations got exposed, to the point where he was actively avoiding attempting shots.
The only hope for Simmons is that he works to develop a jumper and regain his confidence offensively.
But with literally no communication between Ben and the Sixers, it seems unlikely any real progress will be made -- and more likely that both sides just end up moving on completely.
Regardless, this summer is a critical one for Ben and the Sixers, and it could very well determine the future for both sides.
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