PHILADELPHIA—Expressing feelings of embarrassment that he didn’t stop and think before calling out the roster’s total lack of effort, Ben Simmons retracted his criticism of the 76ers Wednesday after remembering that he plays for the team. “I feel like an idiot, I would’ve never called the team ‘soft’ if I’d realized that I’m the starting point guard,” said the 23-year-old, admitting that he felt foolish for asking the Sixers to take more accountability for the defensive assignments knowing that he would have to go back into the locker room with those very players. “Honestly, it totally slipped my mind that I’m signed here through 2025. I just assumed I was attacking one of our rivals when I lashed out after the game. Believe me, I’d never openly attack my own team like that—forget everything I said about us needing more ball movement on offense or rotating better on D.” At press time, Simmons retracted a trade demand after realizing he already plays for a title contender.

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