“He’s still a good basketball player. That’s his weakness:shooting the basketball. If you take that away from Ben Simmons,he got no weakness. That’s Giannis’ weakness,too,” Pippen said.

“But,Giannis don’t mind being humiliated. That’s the difference between him and Ben Simmons. Giannis will go to the free throw line and shoot two f..... airballs and come right down the court the next time and try and dunk on you.”

According to ESPN,Simmons’ management and the 76ers are expected to continue their dialogue. Simmons just completed the first season of a five-year,$US177.2 million ($233 million) contract.

As of Friday evening,Basketball Australia was yet to be told whether he would join coach Brian Goorjian and his Boomer teammates in Los Angeles this weekend for a training camp,ahead of next month’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

However,guard Ryan Broekhoff (mental health) and big man Isaac Humphries (injured) have withdrawn. The pair will not be replaced in the 19-man squad,which will be cut to 12 in early July.

“My mental health is something I have struggled with for a long time and I think it’s important for me to put my hand up and admit when things aren’t ok and that it is time to seek help,” Broekhoff said.

Simmons,turning 25 next month,is already a three-time All-Star selection and this season earned his second straight first-team NBA all-defensive selection. On the other hand,his offensive meltdown in the play-offs is somethingthat the Sixers and Simmons have to feel comfortable he can overcome.

In the seven-game eastern conference semi-final loss to the Hawks,Simmons averaged 9.9 points,6.3 rebounds,8.6 assists,and 2.3 turnovers.

His foul shooting fell apart. After shooting 10 for 28 (35.7 per cent) in the first-round series win over Washington,he shot 15 for 45 (33.3 per cent) against the Hawks. Overall,in the 12 play-off games,he shot just 34.2 per cent (25 for 73) from the foul line.

Simmons was not aggressive offensively,attempting just three fourth-quarter shots in the Hawks series,none in the final four games.

While Simmons has never been a good foul shooter,especially for a point guard,this past play-off he was way below his average.

As a matter of fact,he was historically low. He put together the worst free-throw percentage in NBA play-off history for a player with at least 70 attempts,according to research by ESPN Stats&Information.

In four play-off series before this year,Simmons shot 64 for 98 (65.3 per cent) from the foul line. During his four regular seasons,he is a career 59.7 per cent foul shooter.

After the Atlanta series,Rivers admitted what everybody else could see:Simmons’ poor free-throw shooting affected his game.

with the Philadelphia Inquirer