Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown has reportedly spent significant time working on center Joel Embiid and point-forward Ben Simmons' relationship, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have reportedly had a tenuous relationship at times during their time together in Philadelphia and the addition of Jimmy Butler hasn't helped things get better.

Brown had already spent significant time working on the sometimes-tenuous relationship between Simmons and Embiid, and those challenges have been compounded by the urgency to introduce Butler into the Sixers' dynamic.

Whenever you have three alpha dogs on one team like the Sixers do, these things tend to happen. Joel Embiid is clearly the best player on the roster, but Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler probably feel like they should be featured more on offense.

Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, Embiid and Simmons both went for a defensive rebound and Simmons elbowed Embiid in the face. Embiid was clearly upset about it and was seen yelling in frustration. The big man suffered a orbital bone injury last year. Both players downplayed the play after the game.

Simmons, the reigning Rookie of the Year, is averaging 16.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game this year and shooting 57.6 percent from the field. The lefty has 24 double-doubles and five triple-doubles.

Embiid is averaging a double-double on the season. The 24-year-old is putting up 26.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from the 3-point line.