The Philadelphia 76ers are continuing to work on themselves as they move forward into the 2021-22 season. They have been dealing with a lot of adversity lately on the floor, but they have also continued to deal with the Ben Simmons situation.
Simmons and the Sixers have gone back and forth since his official trade request in August and it has seeped into the season. The 25-year old 3-time All-Star has been with the team, but only as a body rather than an actual participant it seems.
As the team gets set to take on the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, coach Doc Rivers was asked again about Simmons’ status. The team had a film session before the game and he didn’t even know that he was there.
“He was in our film and I honestly didn’t know that he was because he was in the back and I didn’t see him,” said Rivers. “Not on the floor during shootaround, but he’s been around more and he’s doing all the things that I know of that he’s supposed to do. Honestly, once the season started I’ve been focusing on that and I let Daryl (Morey) and Elton (Brand) and all those guys handle all the other stuff.”
After the Sixers take on the Raptors on Thursday at home, they will head to Indiana to begin a long 6-game road trip which will include five games out on the west coast. Philadelphia will have to continue to push forward while still dealing with the Simmons situation which Rivers is not even thinking about at the moment.
“We play the Toronto Raptors tonight,” he stated. “I don’t know who’s gonna be on the road trip. I’m not trying to hide, that is the least thing on my mind right now. I don’t give it two thoughts.”
Even when Simmons does return, if he does, Rivers will have to figure out how to keep the chemistry going for his team. His return to the team could disrupt some things for Philadelphia, but the coach is not concerned about it.
“I’m not worried about that. He’s not here,” he added. “I’m focused on Toronto. When and if that happens, we will deal with it. It’ll be OK. I believe that, but right now honest to God, out of the 40 things I did today, that was not on the list. So, I’m not even that concerned by it.”
The Sixers host the Raptors at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
