Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers was involved in a testy exchange with a reporter as the team turned up for its annual media day with Ben Simmons missing.
In the latest episode of a drawn out saga that shows no signs of coming to a close, Rivers was flanked by Sixers executive Daryl Morey as the pair fielded questions from local reporters regarding Simmons’ absence.
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One such question was based around Rivers’ now-infamous quote immediately after the Sixers’ Game 7 loss to Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season.
Rivers was once again probed about his answer, where he responded with “I don’t know” when asked if a team could win a title with Simmons as its point guard.
The 59-year-old denied that his answer, which went viral immediately after his press conference, was the reason that Simmons had refused to turn up to training camp.
“It was because I wasn’t answering the question,” he said.
“Listen, we can go back and forth all you want or all anybody else wants on intent, but I’ve never had a problem owning what I said.
“No, I’m going to finish. I’m in charge here, I’m going to finish all right?”.
He continued.
“What I said, and I’ll say it over and over again, when you watch it there’s sometimes called intent when you talk. And clearly, clearly what I said was, ‘guys, I’m not answering that, I don’t know right now’.
“I wasn’t answering any question. I was talking about [the fact that] we just finished a Game 7 and that question was asked. I just wasn’t talking about it, I wasn’t answering that.
“All year, who do you think defended Ben more? I still think the world of him as a player.
“Just because he doesn’t do certain things [reporters] want him to do, it doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. He made the All-Star team and he almost won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“So, to me, sometimes I wish instead of just going with what you want, listen to my intent, that’s all I’m saying.”
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The veteran coach also clarified that he had discussed the press conference with Simmons the next day when he realised his comments had been taken the wrong way.
Morey confirmed Simmons’ representatives asked Philadelphia for a trade shortly after the end of the season during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, but said “there’s a lot of hope” the franchise can mend fences with the disgruntled Aussie.
“Every team goes through its own journey,” he said.
“Ben is a very good player, a big part of this team, we’re disappointed he’s not here.
“We’re making our choices, but we’re excited about the players that are here and we’re going to focus on them. In terms of trades or non-trades, I only have one focus: to do what gives us the best chance to win a championship.”
When questioned about whether he knew exactly why Simmons had asked out of Philadelphia, Rivers admitted he didn’t have the answers.
“That’s a good question and it’s a tough answer because it wasn’t clear as we probably would’ve wanted,” he said.
“Wanting to change places for whatever reason. It’s tough to play here. Ben didn’t say that, but you’ve got to assume that it’s probably a part of it.
“I’ve been in a lot of losing rooms and I’ve been in some winning rooms, and it’s amazing the impact [a loss] has.
“This has happened more than you know, it just hasn’t happened to this extent, especially the day after a loss or a week after a loss. Unfortunately, this has not changed so far.”