76ers back to fining Ben Simmons

[FrodoFraggins]

If the NBAPA offers their own head doctors, I have a feeling Philly isn't going to win this. But I don't blame them for trying.

Well that's the issue. They want whatever doctor that diagnosed him to come forward and coordinate with the team and Ben's camp is refusing, either because he's making it up or just to be difficult.

Ah. Well they can't expect that doctor to reveal what's said in confidence. I'm not sure they can expect more than regular updates that don't invade Ben's privacy. Updates along the lines of say "He's making progress but isn't ready for <whatever>". I'm curious what the NBAPA's stance is on the communication as well.

Anyway, from the article

"Philadelphia will begin fining him again for failures to participate in other requirements, such as strength training, film study and some presence at team practices and game-day shootarounds, sources said."

If he truly has anxiety issues then the sixers are probably crossing the line if they think missing those is fineable while he is seeking professional help.

<Simmons>told the Sixers repeatedly that he is unwilling to share information on his course of action in pursuing mental health treatment, sources said.

That's pretty vague but I doubt Simmons can get away with not revealing anything about his treatment plans or schedule. But he doesn't have to have his doctor inform them of specific progress or timelines.

What a mess. I don't see what Philly is gaining by fighting tooth and nail though. It's not going to help attract free agents as it looks petty from the outside. And all because Morey was holding out for a Lillard or Beal.

[SecondTake]

I don't understand why they want him to play so bad. To improve his trade stock? Or do they think he'll have a change of heart and decide to stay? What if does the opposite and he performs worse. Why take the risk? Team is playing well, why mess with the chemistry? It seems like a spiteful tactic to make Simmons do something he doesn't want to do. They're cutting off the nose to spite the face.

Should have just kept him away from the team until they could trade him, or should have traded him at the draft or during the summer.

I share your confusion on this. They can't possibly think they're going to convince him to be happy and stay there. So they must want him to play and up his trade value. But if he's doing whatever it takes to not play, you gotta think if he does play he will just be out there half-assing it. Which isn't going to help the team OR raise his value. And what if he plays and legit suffers some major injury? Then the trade offers dry up completely.

This whole thing continues to mystify me.

The 76ers have 4 years to break him. Fining him every game is going to work eventually. Perhaps they can sic some private eyes on him, dig up some dirt to add more pressure. Eventually, he will break and he will play. And then they start building his value.

[anotherhomer]

At this point, it feels like this is a pyrrhic victory for sixers

Even if they stick it to Ben and rightfully so, Ben trade value has basically cratered.

No one's trading for Ben. The public perception of him is horrible

[sikma42]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

Mental health professional appears to have recommended that he not play for the 76ers right now. That’s enough per the contract he signed. So he is fulfilling his obligations.


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[gp2015]

Imagine your employer asking for your mental health records (aka the notes of your sessions with your therapist).

Now imagine your employer is likely to leak those notes to the public: your family, friends, anyone you care for present and in the future.

"Either because he's making it up or because he's difficult". Fanhood doesn't mean reducing ya own humanity mayne.

Imagine paying someone 30 million to sit on their ass and fake a mental health issue.

I can try this "bring a random point up" too...

Imagine being an owner and being paid more than 30 million to do even less.

Am I playing this right? Or?

Not quite, there is no one that is doing less and getting paid 30 million than Simmons right now.

[Currygoat]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

I signed a contract with my job and can leave at any time to work for a different company. They not telling me to work for them and not get paid lmao

[kuclas]

no team wants ben... Idk why people are saying to just trade him... There is no market out there.

Hypothetically tho if he did get traded it would be funny to see that fan base turn on him and boo him too...im a sick person.

Tons of teams want ben. They just don’t want to give up anyone of value. Their 4th best player at best.

Look at the end of the day. Regardless of Simmons meltdown/head case vs hawks. Simmons brings so much to a team especially regular season. He’s a top 25 nba player in regular seasons

Teams are offering top 50 nba type of players at best. (Cj)

And in Minnesota or Sacramento case. I don’t think any of their players even crack ten top 80-90?

[kuclas]

Imagine paying someone 30 million to sit on their ass and fake a mental health issue.

I can try this "bring a random point up" too...

Imagine being an owner and being paid more than 30 million to do even less.

Am I playing this right? Or?

Not quite, there is no one that is doing less and getting paid 30 million than Simmons right now.

John Wall (47 million). And Klay Thompson 35 million? They both doing nothing as well.

[xAIRNESSx]

From an outside perspective, it feels Simmons is not taking this seriously and may be taking advantage of the system.

Even more of a giant douchebag if it's true.

[MindState]

Good. Hope he gets fined for his entire contract and wastes away. Terrible professional. Employees like him dont deserve jobs, and if it was any other profession he would get black balled from the industry.

Whoever is coaching Ben Simmons on life skills and career growth/development is god awful. Dude thought he was more then just an employee.

[xAIRNESSx]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

I signed a contract with my job and can leave at any time to work for a different company. They not telling me to work for them and not get paid lmao

He's free to play in other leagues.

[gp2015]

I can try this "bring a random point up" too...

Imagine being an owner and being paid more than 30 million to do even less.

Am I playing this right? Or?

Not quite, there is no one that is doing less and getting paid 30 million than Simmons right now.

John Wall (47 million). And Klay Thompson 35 million? They both doing nothing as well.

Wall and Simmons are both doing nothing so how is Wall doing less? How can someone do less than nothing?

Klay is with the team and working out and getting ready to play so not sure why you used him as an example.

[Effigy]

I can try this "bring a random point up" too...

Imagine being an owner and being paid more than 30 million to do even less.

Am I playing this right? Or?

Not quite, there is no one that is doing less and getting paid 30 million than Simmons right now.

John Wall (47 million). And Klay Thompson 35 million? They both doing nothing as well.

Thompson is definitely not doing 'nothing'. He's working hard to get back to good healthy and basketball shape and has been taking part in practices. Just because he hasn't been able to play in games doesn't mean he's 'doing nothing'.

You are right about Wall though.

I think Philly is doing the right thing. I don't think they should dump him just to dump him. Ok they aren't getting a Lillard-type player but if they aren't even getting a Malcom Brogdan type, then why bother? I don't know what the offers are right now, but I'd imagine they aren't good.

[Sixerscan]

I mean it means your 1-2 players deeper with your rotation. That is better than nothing.

So back to my original question, what is the plan then for Philly if getting a good player in return isn't worth it?

Force Simmons to return and play and hope all of a sudden he becomes a happy camper and plays hard so he either helps the team or repairs his trade value?

Its clear as day that isn't going to happen. The bridges have been burned, its not just the bridges of Simmons and the front office of the team. The other players on the team clearly are done with Simmons as well. So again what is the plan here for Philly?

The Sixers have a pretty deep rotation though. Are like Malik Beasley and Jaden McDaniels that much better than Korkmaz and Niang? If you're playing the guys you bring in it means other people have to sit. The Blazers have the best possible offer for Simmons and they just got beat by the Sixers without Simmons, Embiid or Harris.

Plan is to hold onto him until they get an offer that makes the team noticeably better, just like every other team in the league with a player under contract.

This makes sense when you have players that actually play and can improve their trade value. Simmons isn't playing, he isn't improving his trade value, his trade value only continues to drop.

So why should we believe that Philly hasn't got a good enough return way before Simmons value truly started to tank, but the longer and worse relationship he gets with Philly, teams will sooner or later come calling offering a great deal for him?

Again if the bridge between Simmons and the team wasn't completely burned, I could see this way of thinking. I could see him playing hard and rebuilding his trade value, then Philly getting a better offer. Thats not going to happen, Simmons isn't going to play another game in a Philly jersey.

You can say that if you want but I'm not sure how much tangible evidence there is of that. I'm not sure what great offers they had a few months ago or how different they are from what they could get now or on 12/15 or at the deadline or next offseason.

Teams' situations change all the time, teams have disappointing starts, guys demand trades (see Simmons), the Sixers' situation might look more appealing to a guy now that they are still playing well without Simmons. Sixers will wait and see if something happens. Either way if they were just getting underwhelming offers a few months ago and are just getting more underwhelming offers now I'm not sure what they've really lost.

[XtremeDunkz]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

I signed a contract with my job and can leave at any time to work for a different company. They not telling me to work for them and not get paid lmao

Simmons is free to go get s job at Walmart if he wants. Or even go play in the Euro league.

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[bbalnation]

Not quite, there is no one that is doing less and getting paid 30 million than Simmons right now.

John Wall (47 million). And Klay Thompson 35 million? They both doing nothing as well.

Wall and Simmons are both doing nothing so how is Wall doing less? How can someone do less than nothing?

Klay is with the team and working out and getting ready to play so not sure why you used him as an example.

Expand your world/horizons. There are plenty of people not taking a public beating making 30 million dollars a year, thereby doing less (along w whatever he's doing health and basketball wise to keep himself ready).

[MrBigShot]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

Mental health professional appears to have recommended that he not play for the 76ers right now. That’s enough per the contract he signed. So he is fulfilling his obligations.


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Several people in this thread have stated or implied at this point that Simmons has no obligation to share anything about his condition or treatment, but that's not the way it works when you're getting paid $30 million dollars to play in the NBA.

Directly from the CBA:

"A Player who consults or is treated by a physician (including a psychiatrist) or a professional providing non-mental health related medical services (e.g., chiropractor, physical therapist) other than a physician or other professional designated by the Team shall give notice of such consultation or treatment to the Team and shall provide the Team with all information it may request concerning any condition that in the judgment of the Team’s physician may affect the Player’s ability to play skilled basketball."

[gp2015]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

I signed a contract with my job and can leave at any time to work for a different company. They not telling me to work for them and not get paid lmao

Are you asking your old company to pay you while you refuse to work?

[The Real Dalic]

Clown world. Let him go, you can’t force a man to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m seeing this is racist now srs

If he didn't want to be there, don't sign the contract. He did. So he has to do what the contract says now. Or, he could void it. But no, he won't do that because he's selfish and he knows he'll have people like you defending him and saying absolutely ridiculous stuff like the Sixers are "racist."

A truly awful take.

I signed a contract with my job and can leave at any time to work for a different company. They not telling me to work for them and not get paid lmao

1. He negotiated a contract with them and they both agreed to the terms. I'm pretty sure their contract didn't say "Ben Simmons can sit at home and get paid without participating with the team."

2. Unless you negotiated that you would get paid in full if you happen to leave for another company, your contract would get void and you'd leave the rest of the money in the contract with the company.

If Ben wants to leave the Sixers that badly, void the contract. It's that simple. He won't do it though. He wanted to get the full max from the Sixers while then trying to force his way out to where he wants. It doesn't work that way. If he wanted out, then sign with someone else for less.

[gp2015]

John Wall (47 million). And Klay Thompson 35 million? They both doing nothing as well.

Wall and Simmons are both doing nothing so how is Wall doing less? How can someone do less than nothing?

Klay is with the team and working out and getting ready to play so not sure why you used him as an example.

Expand your world/horizons. There are plenty of people not taking a public beating making 30 million dollars a year.

Simmons is taking a public beating for a reason. He refuses to play and is faking a mental health issue while demanding to get paid.

Wall worked together with the team to come to an agreement to not play.

Do you see the difference?