sport news Ben Simmons admits 76ers 'didn't help' with mental health struggles trends now
Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons finally spoke about the drama surrounding his final year in Philadelphia before being traded to New York, as he revealed he just wanted 'help' from the 76ers organization due to personal struggles with his mental health.
The 26-year-old appeared on former Philly teammate J.J. Redick's podcast - The Old Man & The Three - on Wednesday.
He revealed how it felt to not play for the entirety of the 2021-22 season, being on the receiving end of back surgery in May, and how he pushed for the 76ers top brass to trade him at the end of the 2020-21 season.
'I was in such a bad place where I was like, f***, 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, referring to problems with his mental struggles last season.
'And that's all I wanted, was help,' he added, suggesting the 76ers left him out in the cold.
Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons spoke to J.J. Redick on his podcast about last season with 76ers
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The point guard said he didn't feel as if he had support from Philly over his mental health issues
'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,' the Australia-born basketball player further said.
In February, Simmons was traded, along with Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and two future first-round picks to the Nets in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap.
Two months later, in April, Nets head coach Steve Nash confirmed Simmons would sit-out for the remainder of the regular season and the play-in tournament.
The ex-LSU player was then scheduled to make his Brooklyn debut in the first round of the playoffs on April 24 due to the Nets facing a sweep to the Boston Celtics at the time.
He was eventually ruled out of the fixture due to back soreness. The Nets were then eliminated from the playoffs and Simmons proceeded to go under the knife for his back in May.
The point guard, however, revealed that he faced his toughest time away from the court in February as he didn't 'feel like himself' - a month
