Nuntius wrote:rickxdel wrote:1. Ben Simmons only met with a 76ers appointed mental health professional one time so far, for one hour this past Monday November 8th.
2. This meeting just happened to occur right after the team started fining him again due to a lack of communication and clarity on his progress over the past two weeks despite the team's attempts to reach out
3. Rich Paul himself said that one meeting with the Philly therapist was not enough to make any sort of recommendation, direct quote:
"He’s not there yet. How can a doctor, who has only met with Ben once, say, ‘Ben is mentally ready to play?’ So do we keep digging on him, or help him?” so what is your point about 'How about a mental health specialist they themselves recommended?" In order for Sixers to accept that specialist's opinion #4 must happen
4. Sixers want Ben to continue working with the therapist they provided and provide documentation of progress, not much to ask for someone who isn't performing the duties his job requires yet still wants to receive full pay. We shall see if Ben actually complies this time
Seems to me Ben clearly wants out of Philly, doesn't want to play for them while still getting paid. Wants to have his cake and eat it too.
He 100% wants out of Philly. I don't think that anyone is saying otherwise.
Whether he wants to still get paid remains while not playing remains to be seen. His agent implied otherwise in that article but I generally do not trust Rich Paul so what he says doesn't matter all that much to me.
It is still important to note that the 76ers have elected to ignore the NBPA-affiliated therapist that Simmons was seeing and have instead insisted on Simmons seeing the therapist of their choosing. They pulled the same **** with Markelle Fultz and it wasn't pretty for them. We'll see if they want to continue down that path.
Rich Paul most definitely is implying he wants Ben to continue getting paid while not playing, thats the big scam here.
Here are a couple quotes:
“I truly believe the fines, the targeting, the negative publicity shined on the issue — that’s very unnecessary and has furthered the mental health issues for Ben,” Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul said. “Either you help Ben, or come out and say he’s lying. Which one is it?”
Paul drew a contrast between the situation with Simmons and that of Houston Rockets guard John Wall, another of his clients, who is being paid by Houston while sitting out the season, even though he is healthy enough to play. “John is able to play, but Houston is OK using the (Collective Bargaining Agreement) to pay him not to play,” Paul said. “So which way is it? John is perfectly healthy and ready to play, and it’s OK in the CBA. We are being professional with both instances, but how can it go both ways? John and the Rockets have been professional about their situation, and we are also expecting the same with the 76ers.”
And supporting the case that money is a top priority for ben and rich paul, through his behavior:
Ben told the team about the mental health stuff two weeks into training camp, once he was cleared from his previous excuse of back pain and after being fined for missing practices etc.
Sixers say Ben was not communicating on his progress with them since then despite their attempts to reach out so they resumed the fines Nov 5th, and all of a sudden on Nov 8th Ben obliges to meet with a Sixers therapist for a 1hr meeting.
Money is clearly a top priority for Ben and Rich in this situation.
