PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons said during an interview on former teammate JJ Redick’s podcast that he did not feel supported by the Sixers while dealing with mental health struggles in the aftermath of their 2021 playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks, leading to his trade request and months-long holdout before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February.
“I was in such a bad place where I was like, [expletive], I’m trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you’re not helping,” Simmons said on The Old Man & the Three episode posted Thursday. “And that’s all I wanted was help. I didn’t feel like I got it from coaches, teammates — I won’t say all teammates, because there’s great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends — but I didn’t feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me.”
These were Simmons’ most extensive comments since all the events that led to the blockbuster deadline deal that brought perennial All-Star James Harden to Philly. The only other time he has spoken publicly during that period was a press conference in Brooklyn held shortly after he joined the Nets.
