Ben Simmons Will Meet With Sixers Officials Ahead of Nets Matchup

Ever since he's returned to the city of Philadelphia, Ben Simmons has created tons of drama as the disgruntled star continues to search for a way out of town.

Ever since he's returned to the city of Philadelphia, Ben Simmons has created tons of drama as the disgruntled star continues to search for a way out of town. Through his first two days of practice earlier this week, the All-Star was seen just going through the motions as he was in and out of drills.

By Tuesday, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers grew fed up. As Simmons refused to join a defensive drill after being told to participate in multiple times, Rivers told the star guard to exit the practice.

"I just thought he was a distraction," said Doc Rivers on Tuesday. "He didn't want to do what everybody else was doing. It was early, and it wasn't a big deal. I just told him he should leave then, and we went on with practice."

After getting booted from the session, Simmons was issued a one-game suspension. Therefore, he missed Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Although the Sixers didn't have practice on Thursday, Doc Rivers made it clear that the star guard was welcome to re-join the team again after Tuesday's antics.

"I'm gonna give him every day, every single moment, I'm gonna give Ben a chance to join the team and be a part of the team," the coach explained. "He's under contract to be a part of the team, and so that's not going to change. Sometimes it happens quick, and guys join back in. And sometimes it doesn't. I've been in both situations, and I'm fine with that. But at the end of the day, as a coach, I have to protect the team. It's team-first, and then we get to the other part. Today, I just thought it was more important to focus on the team."

The Sixers planned a private workout for Simmons on Thursday at the team's practice facility. Simmons showed up but told the medical staff he was dealing with back tightness. After getting checked out, Simmons was medically cleared for his workout, but the session never happened. Soon after, Simmons left the facility. 

His status for Friday night's home opener against the Brooklyn Nets is currently doubtful. As Simmons is reportedly not mentally ready to play for the Sixers again, he's almost guaranteed to miss Friday's game. However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he is expected to meet with the team on Friday morning to discuss his playing status.

All-Star guard Ben Simmons is expected to come early to the 76ers shootaround on Friday morning to discuss his playing status with organizational leadership, sources tell ESPN. Sixers play the Nets on ESPN and team is still hopeful that Simmons will participate in shootaround.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 21, 2021

It became apparent back in August that Simmons didn't intend to play another game for the Philadelphia 76ers. As he expected a trade to go down at some point during the offseason, the All-Star was shocked to find out that his strategy of holding out wasn't getting him closer to a new destination. As the staredown between Simmons and the Sixers organization continues, the two parties will meet on Friday to see where they can go from here. 

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