Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers are dancing toward an inevitable breakup

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

There is a house on the market in Moorestown, New Jersey, and it is worth a few minutes of envious online gazing, even if you’re like me and can’t begin to dream of affording the thing unless the Powerball ticket I’m about to check gives me an almightily welcome surprise.

It has a media room with a cinema screen and a huge fish tank that you can barely pull your eyes away from, a video gaming lounge, a cigar room, a pool table, a shower the size of a hotel suite and what at first looks like a kitchen but turns out to be a candy store, complete with a popcorn machine and a photo of a pink donut on the wall because, well, why not?

It just hit the market and belongs to Ben Simmons and should be the latest step in one of the best-known young players in the NBA leaving the team for which he no longer wants to play.

There is a process at play here — not "The Process" that rebuilt the Philadelphia 76ers and was hoped would lead to a title but a little dance that tends to unfold in the lead-up to a disgruntled superstar parting ways with a city once matters turn sour.

Selling the home is just part of it. First, as with Jimmy Butler and James Harden before him, there is the general level of disgruntlement that needs to be shown. Simmons portrayed that first by not turning up for practice, then by doing so but training with a cell phone in his pocket, then by getting himself sent home and suspended for one game for refusing to sub into a drill when asked to do so by head coach Doc Rivers. Then the 76ers, minus Simmons, went to New Orleans and absolutely routed the Pelicans 117-97 on Wednesday.

There are more pointers to an impending departure. A farewell column in Simmons’ name has been written and published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, though it should be noted that it was a sardonic yet entertaining spoof by columnist Mike Sielski.

"The Philly family immediately wanted to adopt me, but I wasn’t interested," Sielski wrote as Simmons. "I came away with one goal, not to help win the first NBA championship in this city since 1983, but to step to the free-throw line without being reduced to 6 feet and 10 inches worth of room-temperature Jell-O. We didn’t achieve either of those goals, but the 76ers did agree to give me $177.2 million. Suckers."

Rivers is growing increasingly annoyed by the situation and is starting to lose appetite for concealing that fact, telling reporters before Wednesday’s game that this is all "no fun." Star center Joel Embiid publicly admitted "I don’t care about that man" when asked about Simmons.

If the front office needed any further convincing that holding on and trying to rescue the relationship is a forlorn and unnecessary hope, Wednesday’s performance and unity should have done the trick.

Simmons should be gone, but the way the 25-year-old has handled the summer saga has evaporated any goodwill he might have been due. He is frustrated and by now thought he would be in a new uniform. We get that, but his most recent actions are having the effect of restricting and reducing the type of next move that might have been on offer.

"Ben is killing his trade market," FS1’s Chris Broussard said on "First Things First." "I’m not saying no teams want him, but he is lowering it to an incredible degree. Some [executives] think a [mental block] exists. Then his unprofessionalism is rubbing some people the wrong way."

There was previously some sympathy to be had for Simmons. Philadelphia is a passionate sports town that supports its teams with fire and deep love, but the 76ers fan base is no more forgiving than those of any of the city’s other franchises, and years of playoff pain have tested patience to the max.

When Simmons passed up an open dunk during the final minutes of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, some took it to be indicative of a player lacking the commitment to fulfill his potential and unwilling to seize a moment to elevate himself, his career and his team.

A more reasoned assessment was that he had lost confidence, thoughts echoed over the summer. In telling general manager Daryl Morey and the 76ers of his desire to move on, Simmons expressed his belief that he needs a fresh start at a place where he "could make mistakes," a clear reference to how his each and every misstep in Philly is guaranteed to be scrutinized.

"How about Ben Simmons taking some accountability?" former All-Star Antoine Walker told "First Things First." "You had a rough playoffs. You go back in the gym, you figure it out, and you get better. I love Ben. I think he is a great talent. He is not that good of a player. He has not established himself to where [Philly] has to sit and wait."

There might not be much more waiting to be done. Some possible trades have evaporated, and the 76ers’ wish to get maximum value might no longer be feasible. A reported deal with the Indiana Pacers involving Malcolm Brogdon was likely scuttled when Brogdon signed an extension. For the Portland Trail Blazers to consider offering CJ McCollum, as has long been rumored, would now seem like a sizable risk by itself, let alone with the draft picks Morey would like attached.

Yet Simmons is good enough — an outstanding defender and enlightened passer, with the tease of potential conferred by his youth — that someone is going to take a chance, even if it might not be at the price Philadelphia initially sought.

Soon enough, it’ll be time for him to pack up, pink donut photo and all, and be on his way. It will be the end of an uncomfortable, summer-long drama that, unlike the candy bar, has left a bitter taste all around. 

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.