Ben Simmons left his ball and went home

Ben Simmons is getting closer to his dream of being exiled from Philadelphia. The mercurial shooting-challenged player was booted from practice and suspended for the Sixers’ season opener against the Pelicans after apparently jogging through a second straight day of practice.

Simmons was finally spotted at Sixers practice on Monday, but was clearly disinterested, standing around on the court with a mystery object — a cell phone? practice jersey? — protruding from his pocket. Sixers coach Doc Rivers (who did his own unsuccessful holdout as a player 30 years ago) tossed Simmons from Tuesday’s practice, according to multiple reports, and the team said he was suspended for Wednesday’s game for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

“I thought he was a distraction today,” Rivers said. “I didn’t think he wanted to do what everyone else was doing. ... I’m going to give Ben every chance to be part of the team … as a coach I have to protect the team first.”

Reports trickled out about what exactly happened at Tuesday’s practice. Simmons twice denied Rivers’ request to join a drill, according to The Athletic, and then “dropped the ball and left” after Rivers kicked him out.

Simmons was supposed to speak to media on Tuesday. Instead, local and national media were reporting things like “Simmons’ reluctance to physically and mentally engage with the Sixers since his return has been a consistent theme” and “Simmons was kicked out of today’s practice for not being engaged.”

Joel Embiid echoed Rivers’ sentiment. “At the end of the day,” Embiid said after practice, “our job is not to babysit somebody ... I’d be willing to babysit if someone wants to listen, but that’s not my my job.”

As Simmons has tried to force his way out of town, the Sixers have been steadfast about not trading Simmons for pennies on the dollar. His teammates have ripped his holdout, with Joel Embiid calling it “disappointing” and “borderline kind of disrespectful.”

James Harden was able to force his way out of Houston last year because half the league was willing to mortgage their futures to get him. After his playoff collapse, the market for Simmons is clearly nowhere nearly as robust.