Joel Embiid Confirms Rumors That Ben Simmons Refused to See 76ers Teammates

Joel Embiid confirmed he and a few Philadelphia 76ers players reached out to Ben Simmons in an attempt to repair his relationship with the organization but were rebuffed.

"We just got to let him be himself," Embiid told reporters Monday at Sixers media day.

Simmons reportedly requested a trade in August and is not planning to return to the Sixers at this point, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It's expected that the situation will be protracted, with both coach Doc Rivers and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey saying Monday they want Simmons back in Philadelphia. 

Embiid said he was "disappointed" the situation had deteriorated to this point and he wants Simmons to return to the team.

"I'm just disappointed that he's not here. He knows it, too. He knows we can win together," Embiid said.

The Sixers have made the playoffs the last four seasons but have not gotten past the second round. They were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2020-21 but were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in a shocking seven-game series that saw Simmons struggle mentally because of troubles on the offensive end. 

The Sixers attempted to trade Simmons for James Harden during last season and have spent most of the summer trying to move him again, albeit with the latter situation being more of a mutual understanding. Simmons has seemingly tried to take control of his own future by forcing a trade but has little power with four years remaining on his contract.

The only recourse Simmons has is making the situation as ugly as possible in order to force his way out. While he's yet to make any public comments of his own on the matter and the Sixers are in damage-control mode, it's possible the situation only gets worse in the coming weeks.