Ben Simmons Rips 'Bulls--t' Call After Fouling Out in Nets' Loss to Grizzlies

Ben Simmons' return to the court after he missed last season is not going as he hoped, and he took out some frustration on the officiating after the Brooklyn Nets' 134-124 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

"It's frustrating. It's not a foul," Simmons told reporters when discussing his sixth infraction. "That was bulls--t. It's frustrating because it's late-game. You're in the fourth quarter. It's a physical, close game. It's the NBA; it's not college, not high school."

Ja Morant seemingly baited Simmons before the whistle for his sixth foul. The Grizzlies point guard looked toward his bench, and Simmons pressed up and put his left hand on Morant before Morant tried to escape:

"A lot of it was bulls--t calls if you ask me," Simmons said.

He also ended his news conference with a smile and said, "I just don't want to get fined."

Monday marked Simmons' third game of the season, and he has fouled out twice, scoring 17 points and committing 14 fouls. The Nets are 1-2 and don't look capable of challenging the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics or others at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Simmons' return to the lineup made Brooklyn one of the biggest wild cards of the NBA this season, as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are quite the one-two punch on the offensive side. If Simmons can rediscover the form that led to two All-Defensive nods and three All-Star selections during his time with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team would have a much higher ceiling.

He has not found that form in the early going, and his five turnovers against the Grizzlies counteracted eight assists.

The LSU product was expected to be rusty after he missed last season and as he adjusts to a new team, but this has been far from an ideal start.

There may be a fine coming as well after he was openly critical of the officiating.