On the contrary, it's a perfect opportunity to simply move towards the deep end if these psychological problems do exist. Who is advising this guy? I would be saying bring on the Philadelphia game. Avoidance only strengthens these issues. Nah, I don't know...

I agree Isaac whether really injured or not I think what we know of Simmons he will do everything possible to avoid that March 10 return to Philly. He would be destroyed by the fans Philadelphia the city that even booed Santa Claus.

Obviously was working really hard during his holiday to stay in shape.

MC, I agree and I wonder how bad his advice or help is. Rip the band aid off, fail dramatically if need be, or have a perfectly mediocre return game, then at least the pressure has been slightly released.

By avoiding this upcoming game wimpy Ben is setting himself up for an even bigger storm when the Nets face Philly in the playoffs. I can't wait.

Like, what can he still be working on? Why will he be in a better state in two weeks compared to the present?

Because he hasn't played all season and likely doesn't quite have the fitness yet. You can't replicate NBA match fitness on the training track at some point though he's going to have to jump in just probably after March 10.

I know people have said he should face up to that game get it out way and move on and it would do him the world of good but Simmons isn't wired like that he works on avoidance. Klutch supposedly said to him when he decided he was going to sit out until traded that they don't recommend he do it but he did anyway.

Simmons is a really introverted guy who retreats within himself my brother is a similar type of personality and the more you push them the more they retreat within themselves. I could imagine Simmons could be pretty hard work and you would need to tiptoe and walk on eggshells in fear of offending him and him digging his heels in.

He was supposedly so offended by Doc Rivers questioning him publicly in the playoffs along with Embiid doing it a guy Simmons has always considered below him on the totem pole and then was offended again with Rivers didn't personally show up to where Simmons was working out in the offseason even though Rivers did call him a couple of times and Simmons didn't return his calls.

It's mind-numbing stuff but this is what my brother is like again too the smallest tiniest of slights offends them so much they never want to speak to that person again and will do everything possible to avoid them. Just like Lemanis not picking Simmons for the 2014 WC team even though Simmons had no business being on the team he was still in Year 11 in high school but he made himself unavailable for selection ever since including under Goorjian in 2020/21. They hold grudges like you wouldn't believe no matter how small the perceived slight.

I don't see why he couldn't play short spot minutes already. Are you telling me he couldn't play 10 minutes a game right now? I find that pretty unlikely.

Looks like the claims of mental issues do have some weight behind them but he can't avoid Philly forever.

Simmons is a very weak character. It's that lack-of-accountability, look-to-blame-others as a first instinct kinda person. Seems pretty clear he'll look to attack someone else and/or victimise himself when he's faced with adversity. Ugly, weak trait. A trait that gets you no respect from any real person.

Problem is that pop culture over there drives egoism, and it's particularly rife among the athlete/rapper culture which is pretty much the NBA. The whole thing is ugly, and he isn't a guy I root for or even want to root for until he becomes respectable. Selfish, conceited, lacking responsibility. Gross. Needs to grow up

A lack of match fitness is on him. He agitated for a trade. He's known the date of the trade deadline. He's had the ability to train with the 76ers or afford private trainers to work him hard separately to be ready to maximise his contribution to a new team.

I'm guessing a physical injury was overstated and meant that he didn't want to show how comfortably he could train with the team, etc.

And I assume all of this is happening despite a sports psychologist working with him, because if he doesn't have a fleet of them helping him beat this, he's crazy (har har).

It's just more of the garbage excuses that have become synonymous with Ben Simmons. He has the god-given gifts to be great but it's clear he's going to squander them

Let's get one thing straight. Simmons' mental health issue was retrospectively created in order to continue to be paid because under the terms of the NBA's CBA a team cannot withhold salary under those circumstances.

When he was in his first press conference after signing with the Nets a reporter deliberately set him up by asking if the 76ers were informed about his mental health issues prior to holding out which he confirmed they had been. The question was asked because the 76ers confirmed multiple times on the record beforehand to journalists that the organisation were never told about it until well after he refused to suit up. Not a very bright boy.

He is weak and a liar. I follow a lot of pro sport and this guy takes the cake by far when it comes to petulance.

A good point I saw on a YouTube video breaking down the timeline, was that Simmons got uncomfortable when Doc and Embiid weren't 100 per cent supportive of him, yet Simmons put his club in an uncomfortable position for 4 years as coaches/players were constantly faced with uncomfortable questions from media and defended Simmons every time.

While Doc and Embiid should've been more professional with those comments post game 7, those who defend Simmons don't really factor in the full picture.

People speculating about Simmons' making things up as an excuse as if they're somehow privvy to his medical records gotta stop.

People with MH issues often get labelled weak in character, flakey, difficult etc.

On balance it seems that he likely does have some kind of MH issues. The issue is whether he and people around him are doing all they can to get him the help he needs and that seems far less clear.

I don't think mental health issues should make one any less responsible for their actions

Its not about excusing their actions its about understanding them

I think that approach enables dickheaded behaviour. People know the difference between right and wrong, rude and not.

You can be both cognisant of not being a dickhead and working on your issues

You should submit your paper for peer review.

I think he absolutely has some form of mental issue but it's hardly palatable (and goes against his public persona) raising "my anxiety means I don't attempt two of the most valuable shots in the sport I play professionally". It's a separate issue whether he later admitted it or used it as rationale with the 76ers.

Cram you are not privy to Simmons private medical records either so maybe you should stop sticking up for the guy as you have no more information than any other punter here.

True, I'm not. But I'm also not claiming that someone is making up or embellishing a MH diagnoses to excuse behaviour. We don't accuse someone of faking when a physical injury keeps someone out, why do we seem to always jump straight to accusations of faking when its mental health?

Ben would arrogantly point to his stats any time anyone spoke of his weaknesses, and then when it all came to ahead he blamed everyone else and blamed the team for it.

He might have mental health issues, but he's also a childish piece of shit.

It may come to pass that Ben just isn't capable of being an NBA player - not due to talent or ability, but simply because of mental fragility and an entitlement complex that has been allowed to flourish with him.

His sister Liv is confirmed to have Bipolar disorder. Mental illness is often genetic. Ben might be dealing with some sort of personality disorder. It would not at all surprise me. But that doesn't make him unanswerable to anyone, especially when being paid hundreds of millions of dollars.

"True, I'm not. But I'm also not claiming that someone is making up or embellishing a MH diagnoses to excuse behaviour. We don't accuse someone of faking when a physical injury keeps someone out, why do we seem to always jump straight to accusations of faking when its mental health?"

People often do question injuries and faked injuries have occurred plenty of times in sport. As for mental health we can only assess on his actions and his actions are of someone who has issues as well as has an entitlement complex and is a general, all-round jerk

There is no doubt that mental health is a genuine concern for lots of people, and you're right to say that it's wrong to speculate or assume the state of ones mental health, but at the same time I still feel like there is a lack of distinction in todays society between genuine mental health problems and claiming to be suffering from mental health problems because you're nervous about playing basketball again or you're sad because your girlfriend left you. These are normal emotions that most people have to overcome. So I think there is this fashion to claim mental health sentiment. This is a tricky issue to discuss because people can justifiably or unjustifiably be quick to take offense or misrepresent the point. Again, you have to be very careful not to dismiss mental health concerns in a bygone flippant way, but at the same time I have to agree that there should be skepticism about normal feelings and attitudes being too intertwined with genuine mental health issues that have been diagnosed by a professional.

Like people have already said, there is no doubt that Simmons has a performance anxiety that's probably linked to a number things throughout his career, but he also a professional basketballer that is expected to handle this.

Agreed, he has likely milked his way out Philly and now supposedly has a lower back problem. Wouldn't Brooklyn be asking why he isn't in shape and ready to go?

The skepticism around Simmons I think is fair.

I'm glad you're all mental health experts and can assess Ben better than the people who work with him directly. Well done.

claiming to be suffering from mental health problems because you're nervous about playing basketball again

Isaac, I'm not saying he is inventing that, it was more a broader example of how we can confuse normal emotions caused by stressful situations with genuine mental health disorders. It was only an example and not a simplistic view of his position.

My point was that it could be part of a growing fashion to confuse mental health as a disorder with normal feelings like being anxious about what will happen the next time you play a basketball game against your old team.

I understand your point though, it's an issue for Ben but not an issue for others, which is why there is the suggestion that he has the issues in the first place.

I think Ben just needs to play and get his confidence back. I wish him all the best in overcoming this part of his career.

Please think about what I'm not saying. It is not my mentality that anyone with these concerns should just toughen up.

The distinguishing difference Cram is generally a physical injury can be seen with scans etc Thus it's far easier to fake something that isn’t necessarily tangible. Heck back in high school every second girl faked period pain to go home early. Why? Because you just had to take their word for it.

And this is my point. The instant assumption that it is being made up, because why wouldnt you? Its not like there's massive stigma attached to admitting you have mental health issues or anything. Everyone who has ever battled MH problems has always been open about it because society is so welcoming of them

"a physical injury can be seen with scans"

Also, do you see the scans? Do you read the doctors report? No it is reported that scans have happened and the diagnoses is made by a doctor/s.

A MH issue is diagnosed by a doctor too.

"I'm glad you're all mental health experts and can assess Ben better than the people who work with him directly. Well done."

I don't need a PhD to see the guy was a jerk. Ted Bundy was mentally ill and also a jerk.

"I still feel like there is a lack of distinction in todays society between genuine mental health problems and claiming to be suffering from mental health problems because you're nervous about playing basketball again or you're sad because your girlfriend left you. "

Bingo. He's entitled even if he's diagnosable.

I think most people would be more likely to buy the "mental health issue" line if his whole body of work didn't lead you to believe he was a jerk.

Bogut's story about Simmons at the 2019 Boomers Camp really says it all. There was no Playoff series let down to excuse his bizarre behaviour in that circumstance, nor that of his team. You can be bipolar and still a jerk and that's probably where Ben sits.

Truth be told we don't know anyone's mental health status. We're all battling our own issues. I don't see what makes Ben special. What makes Ben more answerable for those issues is 250 million Australian dollars he gets to put a ball in a hole.

"Ted Bundy was mentally ill..."

Imagine what would happen if he was able to recognise that, take a step back and deal with it. Nah, lets just expect everyone to deal with their issues the way you do hey?

If you are paid to be an elite sportsman, there is an expectation that you can handle 'the pressure'.

Pressure to perform, to keep up appearances, to be at places you don't want to be in, to speak with people you don't feel comfortable with. To address tough questions.

Must be tough mentally to be sucking face in the crowd at Wimbledon immediately after your playoff exit living shit up. Yep, MH issues all the way bro

How's the peer review going Cram?

Taking personal responsibility for your actions and suffering from mental health issues are far from mutually exclusive.

It's as if to some the 76ers-appointed mental health professionals being denied access to Simmons didn't happen.

I hope you guys don't have mates suffering from MH issues.

This is a cesspool of Simmons hate.

Mental health can strike down anyone and in many different ways.

Nobody here really knows what is going on inside his head and what he is dealing with. Just because he is a professional sportsperson does not make him immune.

Correct. No one knows what is or isn't going on in his head.

I just think a pattern of behaviour over, what, 10 years dating back to juniors, speaks volumes. Problem is if he's mentally ill then he's not equating that to looking at the world through an incorrect lense. He's being petulant and has been petulant for a long time. If he's mentally ill and trying to improve that, then he wouldn't be acting like a turd

Week to week decision, has back injury. Photo of him with massive silver chains around his neck.

I love the scene, which was captured on live TV, where Drummond makes fun of Simmons' chains.

All those chains pulling him forward must put one hell of a strain on his back.

"I just think a pattern of behaviour over, what, 10 years dating back to juniors, speaks volumes."

Which pattern are you referring to? The struggling under pressure? The conflict and disputes with coaches? The avoidance of difficult situations? The tendency to disappear, going missing without communication, not communicating with teammates? Or his refusal to consult professionals, such as shooting coaches or psychologists, to treat his apparent problems?

It's tough to take his mental health claims seriously considering his track record. It's even more difficult to believe when you see his response to journalists asking him about his mental health claims when he outright lies, such as misrepresenting his refusal to meet with 76ers team doctors.