Danny Green Implies Ben Simmons Pulled A Bold Move To Cut Off Contact With The 76ers In The Offseason

Ben Simmons Reportedly Changed Phone Number To Ghost 76ers

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  • Danny Green shed some light on the origins of Ben Simmons’ rift with the 76ers
  • Simmons apparently went to great lengths to make sure no one could contact him after deciding he was done in Philadelphia
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It was pretty clear that all was not well in Philadelphia after the 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs last season thanks in no small part to the brain fart that led to Ben Simmons getting thrown under the bus by multiple members of the franchise.

However, I don’t think many people predicted things would devolve as quickly and severely as they did, as that loss sparked one of the more dramatic sagas the NBA has seen in recent memory.

In July, fans learned Simmons had reportedly ghosted his teammates after informing the front office he wanted out of Philadelphia and threatened to boycott training camp if his request was ignored. Things only escalated from there, as he willingly forfeited at around $20 million by refusing to play during the regular season before he was finally sent to Brooklyn in a blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to the 76ers.

Now, we have a better idea of exactly what transpired prior to that point courtesy of Danny Green, as he shed some light on what went down during an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast where he suggested Simmons went out of his way to make sure no one could connect with him (the segment in question kicks off around the 16:30 mark):

“I think we all tried at different times to reach out…I did reach out. I think his number might’ve changed by that point. I reached out on a personal level and said, ‘Look man, we can turn this thing around. Let’s sit down and have a talk.’ I sent a couple of text messages at different times…

From there, I didn’t hear from him. I was checking on Joel [Embiid] in free agency, checking with Tobias [Harris]. I talked to most guys throughout the summer and I was checking on him but I hadn’t heard back…

The last few times I reached out before he showed up, I had reached out via text to try to have a sitdown to talk with him…I didn’t get a response. I think he’d changed his number by that point.”

Green also said the team tried to pick up where they left off after Simmons showed up to training camp but did their best to push forward and avoid any distractions after he was kicked out of practice and suspended by the team shortly after.

When you consider the 76ers are currently just a couple of games out of first place in the Eastern Conference, it’s safe to say they managed to handle things about as well as they could.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.