Ben Simmons Subtweets: What Does it Mean?

Ben Simmons is causing NBA drama already, but does it pertain to his desire to play for the Philadelphia 76ers?

Ben Simmons is already creating drama within the NBA world, and he has yet to be even drafted. As usual with any projected first overall prospect, there are reports that come out surrounding that player and the team that has the first overall pick.

For a player like Simmons, (who has been called the “next LeBron James”) there are also reports that come out that have to do with off the court things, such as sneaker deals. It has been said that Simmons’ camp was hoping that the Los Angeles Lakers would get the top overall pick, making it easier for Simmons to get exposure, and also credibility in the pop culture market, given that Simmons would be in one of the mist densely populated celebrity cities that exists in America.

That’s no surprise. Last year, it was said that Jahlil Okafor’s camp’s preference was for him to end up in Los Angeles. Since that that franchise has so much winning history, and that they are also looking for a player to come in and replace Kobe Bryant who has just retired, it would have been ideal for Simmons to go there.

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But in an age where social media exists, location is not as important. Karl-Anthony Towns was one of the most popular rookies in recent memory, and he did that from Minnesota, which is not the most glamorous city as far as the lens of pop culture says.

Simmons is already stirring up the media and fans, however, acknowledging reports that may not be factual. The vagueness of his subtweeting, however, leaves a bit of a mystery. But some investigation can reveal what’s between the lines.

Early on Wednesday, it was reported that Simmons and his camp was preparing for the Sixers to draft Simmons. Most notably (by Sixers standards) was Tom Moore, Sixers beat writer for the Bucks County Courier Times.

Another report had come out the night before that said Simmons had reached an agreement with Nike to sign a shoe deal with them, despite them offering less money than Adidas.

And so, Wednesday morning, Simmons tweeted, “Terrible sources.”

What does this mean? Was Simmons curving the reports that he was prepping to go to Philly? Or curving the reports that he was signing a shoe deal with Nike?

Former Sixers.com beat writer Max Rappaport investigated Simmons’ liked Tweets on Twitter, revealing that he had liked the article put out by Nick DePaula, which detailed Simmons’ deal with Nike and decision to forgo a larger deal with Adidas.. He also liked a tweet that poked fun at DePaula’s sources, furthering the idea that the subtweet was related to DePaula, not anything about the Sixers.

This would seem to answer the question of who Ben Simmons was subtweeting pic.twitter.com/T36zw121f8
— max (@MaxOnTwitter) June 8, 2016

These lead me to believe that Simmons is clearly not referencing the reports that his camp is preparing for him to be selected first overall.

Next: There is Still a Role for Okfaor to Play

Let’s be honest, Simmons, who has been projected as the first overall pick since halfway through this college season, would be foolish to not be preparing himself to be picked by the Sixers. And even if Simmons was leery to play for the Sixers, he doesn’t exactly have that much of a choice.