Sixers rumors: The role Jimmy Butler played in Ben Simmons Philly exit

Apparently, during his time with the Sixers, Jimmy Butler played a major role in Ben Simmons' brewing discontent in Philly.

Both Ben Simmons and James Harden are now closing in on their respective debuts for their new teams following the landscape-shifting trade between the Sixers and the Nets. The dust has now settled on that blockbuster deal, but at this point, we still can't stop talking about Simmons' unsavory exit from the team that drafted him first overall six years ago.

As it turns out, Jimmy Butler, who now plies his trade with the Miami Heat, also played a key role in Simmons' brewing discontent with the Sixers. It's not as if Butler planted the seeds of Simmons' eventual forced exit, but somehow, the Heat star was a major factor in the same. According to Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Butler's mere presence in the locker room during his time with the Sixers put Simmons in a not-so-pleasant light:

Simmons typically finished his pregame workout long before Butler and Embiid. This put Simmons in the locker room without Butler and Embiid for several minutes. Simmons owned the room in their absence. He told the jokes. He did the teasing. He was the alpha dog.

Then, in came Jimmy and Joel, and Simmons turned tail. Embiid commanded an entire wall of lockers to the right of the entry door. Everyone deferred to him, except Butler. The place got pretty quiet, and when anything was said, Butler usually said it. With Butler in the room, Simmons virtually disappeared.

It wasn't just Jimmy Butler, too. Joel Embiid also played a significant role in Simmons being unhappy with his role on the Sixers. If you think about it, however, this was more of an issue on Simmons' end as opposed to Butler and/or Embiid. It was his own insecurities that led him to unwillingly concede his alpha status to Embiid and Butler.

You have to note, though, that in the summer of 2019, the Sixers decided to get rid of Butler, trading him away to Miami. That same offseason, they signed Simmons to a massive five-year max extension to the tune of $170 million.

This makes me wonder, how will Ben Simmons act inside the Nets locker room? Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are the top dogs in Brooklyn and Simmons will once again take a backseat behind these two superstars. If he's still carrying his baggage from his time in Philly then this could be a problem for Simmons and his new team.