76ers kick Ben Simmons out of practice, suspend him for one game for 'conduct detrimental to team'

The Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday suspended guard Ben Simmons one game for conduct detrimental to the team, it was announced in a news release from the team.

Simmons, who just recently joined the team after not reporting to training camp, will miss Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Simmons was kicked out of practice for not being engaged, a person familiar with the decision told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.

“I thought he was a distraction,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers told reporters after practice. “I didn’t think he wanted to do what everyone else was doing. It was early. It wasn’t a big deal. I just told him he should leave then, and we went on with practice.”

Simmons and the Sixers are at odds with Simmons requesting a trade in the summer. Simmons did not report to training camp but after losing close to $1 million in salary and fines, he arrived in Philadelphia last week.

Simmons was scheduled to meet with reporters following practice on Tuesday.

President of basketball operations Daryl Morey has been unable to find a suitable trade, and while Morey and Rivers have maintained they want Simmons on the court, the trade request coupled with back-and-forths publicly and anonymously have put the team in an untenable situation.

John Hollinger, a former front-office executive with Memphis and now with The Athletic, tweeted last week, “Holding out just isn't a very effective tactic. Much better to show up and be such an (expletive) that they pay you to stay away.”

Simmons might be headed for that territory. On Monday, reporters witnessed Simmons at practice with a cell phone in his pocket, and at the conclusion of practice, he did not participate in the team huddle.

Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid said he has not talked to Simmons, telling reporters, "At the end of the day, our job is not to babysit somebody."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ben Simmons kicked out of Sixers' practice, suspended for one game