76ers back to fining Ben Simmons

[DreamTeam09]

Something is pretty off with Simmons. Hope he had some good investments to make up for the lost salary this year...

Teams like to use money to control players. It’s clear that’s not his motivation. That’s going to bother many fans and organizations. If he gets what he wants though that’s not an unreasonable price if his total contract is $177M. So far that’s only 6%.

Simmons donating 11M to his owner is not going to help get him what he wants. If anything, it's making it less likely he'll get what he wants. Playing with Sixers and reminding everyone he's good would get him what he wants and it wouldn't cost him 11M.

If he's playing, they wouldn't trade him. They have no reason to trade him because he's under contract next year and so on. By not playing, Philly is missing out on a key player to add to their championship contention this year. Do they wanna bite the bullet and not trade him, we'll see

[VanWest82]

Teams like to use money to control players. It’s clear that’s not his motivation. That’s going to bother many fans and organizations. If he gets what he wants though that’s not an unreasonable price if his total contract is $177M. So far that’s only 6%.

Simmons donating 11M to his owner is not going to help get him what he wants. If anything, it's making it less likely he'll get what he wants. Playing with Sixers and reminding everyone he's good would get him what he wants and it wouldn't cost him 11M.

If he's playing, they wouldn't trade him. They have no reason to trade him because he's under contract next year and so on. By not playing, Philly is missing out on a key player to add to their championship contention this year. Do they wanna bite the bullet and not trade him, we'll see

No. Sixers know that even if Simmons returns the best option long-term for both sides is to part ways. They're just not going to trade him for 10 cents on the dollar staring down the barrel of a shot gun.

[CIN-C-STAR]

He'd rather lose 100m than play for the 76ers.

That speaks volumes. There's honestly nothing that can be said that is more damning than that action.

Sixers org is filled with reputable people who have been around the league for years with generally positive approval, including their coach, GM, team vets like Green, Harris, Curry, etc. Embiid seems reasonable...

The only thing this says is that Ben isn't right in the head, and so if that's your point then ok. It's certainly damning to Ben.

I agree that Ben has had mental struggles, it's clear, and yet the 76ers have decided to dock his pay rather than help put him in a better situation.

So either Ben has mental health issues and had got no support from 76ers or the 76ers are that bad to play for that a right minded person would lose 100m just to not have to play there.

Either way, it looks deplorable on the sixers. Objectively I think you have to see that. Not saying sixers are always bad but they've handled this very poorly.

Or he has mental health issues and is refusing the help that's offered.
It's unfortunately pretty common for those that need help to refuse it.
Not saying that's the case here but the either/or scenario you layed out is not the only two possibilities.

[zimpy27]

Sixers org is filled with reputable people who have been around the league for years with generally positive approval, including their coach, GM, team vets like Green, Harris, Curry, etc. Embiid seems reasonable...

The only thing this says is that Ben isn't right in the head, and so if that's your point then ok. It's certainly damning to Ben.

I agree that Ben has had mental struggles, it's clear, and yet the 76ers have decided to dock his pay rather than help put him in a better situation.

So either Ben has mental health issues and had got no support from 76ers or the 76ers are that bad to play for that a right minded person would lose 100m just to not have to play there.

Either way, it looks deplorable on the sixers. Objectively I think you have to see that. Not saying sixers are always bad but they've handled this very poorly.

Or he has mental health issues and is refusing the help that's offered.
It's unfortunately pretty common for those that need help to refuse it.
Not saying that's the case here but the either/or scenario you layed out is not the only two possibilities.

That's true, but then why dock his pay?

[DreamTeam09]

Simmons donating 11M to his owner is not going to help get him what he wants. If anything, it's making it less likely he'll get what he wants. Playing with Sixers and reminding everyone he's good would get him what he wants and it wouldn't cost him 11M.

If he's playing, they wouldn't trade him. They have no reason to trade him because he's under contract next year and so on. By not playing, Philly is missing out on a key player to add to their championship contention this year. Do they wanna bite the bullet and not trade him, we'll see

No. Sixers know that even if Simmons returns the best option long-term for both sides is to part ways. They're just not going to trade him for 10 cents on the dollar staring down the barrel of a shot gun.

But if he was playing, they wouldn't trade him during the season, maybe in the summer sure. But they wouldn't trade him if he was playing and playing well

[VanWest82]

I agree that Ben has had mental struggles, it's clear, and yet the 76ers have decided to dock his pay rather than help put him in a better situation.

So either Ben has mental health issues and had got no support from 76ers or the 76ers are that bad to play for that a right minded person would lose 100m just to not have to play there.

They're docking his pay because he's not cooperating with them (e.g. blowing off Sixers doctors, not sharing medical info, etc.). This isn't a Kawhi situation where the doctors F'd up or we'd have heard about it by now. Simmons is deliberately shutting the team out. He's the one being unprofessional and Sixers are responding to that.

Either way, it looks deplorable on the sixers. Objectively I think you have to see that. Not saying sixers are always bad but they've handled this very poorly.

Completely disagree. This looks terrible on Ben and Sixers are doing exactly what they should be doing. Why would they agree to materially hurt their franchise by trading him for pennies on the dollar just because Simmons is uncooperative and content to torpedo his own trade value? It doesn't make sense.

If Simmons is truly unfit to play, he should cooperate with Sixers team doctors in order to return to the court.

If Simmons is fit to play, then he should return to the court and Klutch should work with Sixers FO to identify options that can work for both sides. Putting a gun to Sixers heads only results in this current nonsense, and so any ancillary damage to Simmons falls under the category of self-inflicted wound.

[zimpy27]

I agree that Ben has had mental struggles, it's clear, and yet the 76ers have decided to dock his pay rather than help put him in a better situation.

So either Ben has mental health issues and had got no support from 76ers or the 76ers are that bad to play for that a right minded person would lose 100m just to not have to play there.

They're docking his pay because he's not cooperating with them (e.g. blowing off Sixers doctors, not sharing medical info, etc.). This isn't a Kawhi situation where the doctors F'd up or we'd have heard about it by now. Simmons is deliberately shutting the team out. He's the one being unprofessional and Sixers are responding to that.

Either way, it looks deplorable on the sixers. Objectively I think you have to see that. Not saying sixers are always bad but they've handled this very poorly.

Completely disagree. This looks terrible on Ben and Sixers are doing exactly what they should be doing. Why would they agree to materially hurt their franchise by trading him for pennies on the dollar just because Simmons is uncooperative and content to torpedo his own trade value? It doesn't make sense.

If Simmons is truly unfit to play, he should cooperate with Sixers team doctors in order to return to the court.

If Simmons is fit to play, then he should return to the court and Klutch should work with Sixers FO to identify options that can work for both sides. Putting a gun to Sixers heads only results in this current nonsense, and so any ancillary damage to Simmons falls under the category of self-inflicted wound.

You don't think they've devalued Ben?

I think Simmons is happy with his money and new fiance and not having to play for the sixers tbh.

No gun was put to anyone's head, he said he didn't want to play for them anymore because he didn't feel like he could. The situation happened to Ben and the sixers, the one that can resolve it more easily is the sixers and they refuse to do so

[Bum Adebayo]

Sixers have nothing to resolve, as Simmons is under a 4-year contract, he is at fault here. Sixers could trade him for low value yes, Simmons could also play some games.

[FrodoFraggins]

Sixers org is filled with reputable people who have been around the league for years with generally positive approval, including their coach, GM, team vets like Green, Harris, Curry, etc. Embiid seems reasonable...

The only thing this says is that Ben isn't right in the head, and so if that's your point then ok. It's certainly damning to Ben.

I agree that Ben has had mental struggles, it's clear, and yet the 76ers have decided to dock his pay rather than help put him in a better situation.

So either Ben has mental health issues and had got no support from 76ers or the 76ers are that bad to play for that a right minded person would lose 100m just to not have to play there.

Either way, it looks deplorable on the sixers. Objectively I think you have to see that. Not saying sixers are always bad but they've handled this very poorly.

Or he has mental health issues and is refusing the help that's offered.
It's unfortunately pretty common for those that need help to refuse it.
Not saying that's the case here but the either/or scenario you layed out is not the only two possibilities.

Or he has legit mental health issues and doesn't trust the team doctors to keep it confidential. Now if he's offered NBAPA professionals and turns it down then sure.

The last I heard was that he was trying to skirt the rules that require a doctor to keep in touch with the team on strategy and timelines. He was skirting it by not using a Medical Doctor as they are the only ones with those requirements.

I figured his team would be suing but I haven't heard a peep. Maybe they expect to recoup fines by taking legal actions after a trade.

[VanWest82]

You don't think they've devalued Ben?

No. I think Ben devalued himself by playing poorly, and if you believe the reporting, by not spending enough time working on his game over the years. Doc's off-the-cuff comment after game 7 did nothing to his value.

I think Simmons is happy with his money and new fiance and not having to play for the sixers tbh.

No gun was put to anyone's head, he said he didn't want to play for them anymore because he didn't feel like he could. The situation happened to Ben and the sixers, the one that can resolve it more easily is the sixers and they refuse to do so

They refuse to trade him because he tanked his trade value by refusing to play. Why should Sixers fall on the sword for Ben? Their FO has a responsibility to act in the best interest of the org. If they don't do that, everyone should be fired.

[VanWest82]

I figured his team would be suing but I haven't heard a peep.

This is the important point. Where's Michelle Roberts? If Sixers were the ones breaching contract, you bet NBAPA would be doing media blitz on behalf of Ben. Crickets. Fines and more fines and crickets.

[zimpy27]

You don't think they've devalued Ben?

No. I think Ben devalued himself by playing poorly, and if you believe the reporting, by not spending enough time working on his game over the years. Doc's off-the-cuff comment after game 7 did nothing to his value.

I think Simmons is happy with his money and new fiance and not having to play for the sixers tbh.

No gun was put to anyone's head, he said he didn't want to play for them anymore because he didn't feel like he could. The situation happened to Ben and the sixers, the one that can resolve it more easily is the sixers and they refuse to do so

They refuse to trade him because he tanked his trade value by refusing to play. Why should Sixers fall on the sword for Ben? Their FO has a responsibility to act in the best interest of the org. If they don't do that, everyone should be fired.

Do you think his value is going down now though? I think it would be.

They aren't falling on a sword by not negotiating a fair offer for the player.

[VanWest82]

Do you think his value is going down now though? I think it would be.

I think it's the same as it was once it became clear he wasn't going to play, which is on Ben not Sixers.

They aren't falling on a sword by not negotiating a fair offer for the player.

As long as Ben is refusing to play there won't be a fair offer, so yes they'd be falling on the sword by trading him now.

[kuclas]

Again this is unprecedented what Simmon's/Klutch is trying to accomplish. There is no blueprint/previous history of any player Simmons age/ 4 year contract length/team not tanking ever succeeding in forcing his way out. Never.

Even the Paul George trade with his 2 plus 2 years extension with OKC. OKC's goals were to tank/rebuild and immediately traded away Russell Westbrook. Just happens cp3 happen to be healthy and that surprise the heck out of OKC that year than they got rid of Cp3 to really tank.

But no player with Simmons contract length/age non injury status on a team actually trying to win has ever forced his way out by refusing to play.

I think Klutch and Simmons thought they could just sit at home and a trade would have been completed by end of the summer. They really thought that. Klutch/Simmons had all summer to use the mental health excuse. Wouldn't that been easier way out for them?

Very few people believe Simmon's has a real mental health issue. His only mental health issue may be in his head that he can't play for the Sixers ever again.

[bebopdeluxe]

Something is pretty off with Simmons. Hope he had some good investments to make up for the lost salary this year...

Teams like to use money to control players. It’s clear that’s not his motivation. That’s going to bother many fans and organizations. If he gets what he wants though that’s not an unreasonable price if his total contract is $177M. So far that’s only 6%.

Simmons donating 11M to his owner is not going to help get him what he wants. If anything, it's making it less likely he'll get what he wants. Playing with Sixers and reminding everyone he's good would get him what he wants and it wouldn't cost him 11M.

Sixers have won 6 in a row, have beaten both the Dubs and the Nets recently, as well as being 2-0 versus the Bulls. Embiid coming back from COVID and being dominant again.

I hope Ben likes sitting at home, because right now there is no rush to trade him. Sixers are doing just fine, they have gotten through the worst of COVID (according to ESPN's Kevin Pelton, only the Cavs have been more impacted by COVID than the Sixers), and January has a lot of home games and a relatively easy schedule. I am sure that Morey will trade him if the right deal comes along, but those Jaden McDaniels-type deals sure as f aren't going to get it done. The smart play for him would be to come back for 2-3 weeks, remind people who he is, and raise his trade value. I am not holding my breath on that.

The dummest holdout in sports history?

[Ballerhogger]

Do you think his value is going down now though? I think it would be.

I think it's the same as it was once it became clear he wasn't going to play, which is on Ben not Sixers.

They aren't falling on a sword by not negotiating a fair offer for the player.

As long as Ben is refusing to play there won't be a fair offer, so yes they'd be falling on the sword by trading him now.

at this point he probably not getting moved sixers are winning with team as is.

[bebopdeluxe]

You don't think they've devalued Ben?

No. I think Ben devalued himself by playing poorly, and if you believe the reporting, by not spending enough time working on his game over the years. Doc's off-the-cuff comment after game 7 did nothing to his value.

I think Simmons is happy with his money and new fiance and not having to play for the sixers tbh.

No gun was put to anyone's head, he said he didn't want to play for them anymore because he didn't feel like he could. The situation happened to Ben and the sixers, the one that can resolve it more easily is the sixers and they refuse to do so

They refuse to trade him because he tanked his trade value by refusing to play. Why should Sixers fall on the sword for Ben? Their FO has a responsibility to act in the best interest of the org. If they don't do that, everyone should be fired.

Do you think his value is going down now though? I think it would be.

They aren't falling on a sword by not negotiating a fair offer for the player.

I actually think Morey has played this just right. I don't think his value has gone down at all.

And I hope Ben and klutch have clipped their coupons, because if a decent deal doesn't come up by the deadline, Ben is probably sitting until the summer, where a S&T for a guy like Beal (or even Harden) becomes more of a possibility.

[zimpy27]

No. I think Ben devalued himself by playing poorly, and if you believe the reporting, by not spending enough time working on his game over the years. Doc's off-the-cuff comment after game 7 did nothing to his value.


They refuse to trade him because he tanked his trade value by refusing to play. Why should Sixers fall on the sword for Ben? Their FO has a responsibility to act in the best interest of the org. If they don't do that, everyone should be fired.

Do you think his value is going down now though? I think it would be.

They aren't falling on a sword by not negotiating a fair offer for the player.

I actually think Morey has played this just right. I don't think his value has gone down at all.

And I hope Ben and klutch have clipped their coupons, because if a decent deal doesn't come up by the deadline, Ben is probably sitting until the summer, where a S&T for a guy like Beal (or even Harden) becomes more of a possibility.

I genuinely hope Embiid has many more years left at his prime otherwise it could be decades before sixers have this opportunity to win a trophy.

Beal would be a bad choice. Harden would be great, if that happens then I will tip my cap to Morey

[bebopdeluxe]

Do you think his value is going down now though? I think it would be.

They aren't falling on a sword by not negotiating a fair offer for the player.

I actually think Morey has played this just right. I don't think his value has gone down at all.

And I hope Ben and klutch have clipped their coupons, because if a decent deal doesn't come up by the deadline, Ben is probably sitting until the summer, where a S&T for a guy like Beal (or even Harden) becomes more of a possibility.

I genuinely hope Embiid has many more years left at his prime otherwise it could be decades before sixers have this opportunity to win a trophy.

Beal would be a bad choice. Harden would be great, if that happens then I will tip my cap to Morey

The season's halfway gone now. I would be fine with playing lots of Maxey and Thybulle, and seeing what this team can do as is. If a good deal presents itself by the deadline, then go for it...but Morey is playing the long game here. There are a lot of impact players that aren't available right now but could potentially be available this summer - Beal, Harden, Lillard...maybe Jaylen Brown (depending on how the season ends for Boston). I would MUCH rather let this team - as is - do whatever it is going to do and revisit a trade this summer, rather than do some kind of Hield/Barnes-type ish.

[zimpy27]

I actually think Morey has played this just right. I don't think his value has gone down at all.

And I hope Ben and klutch have clipped their coupons, because if a decent deal doesn't come up by the deadline, Ben is probably sitting until the summer, where a S&T for a guy like Beal (or even Harden) becomes more of a possibility.

I genuinely hope Embiid has many more years left at his prime otherwise it could be decades before sixers have this opportunity to win a trophy.

Beal would be a bad choice. Harden would be great, if that happens then I will tip my cap to Morey

The season's halfway gone now. I would be fine with playing lots of Maxey and Thybulle, and seeing what this team can do as is. If a good deal presents itself by the deadline, then go for it...but Morey is playing the long game here. There are a lot of impact players that aren't available right now but could potentially be available this summer - Beal, Harden, Lillard...maybe Jaylen Brown (depending on how the season ends for Boston). I would MUCH rather let this team - as is - do whatever it is going to do and revisit a trade this summer, rather than do some kind of Hield/Barnes-type ish.

Every team in the NBA has had a chance to procure Ben Simmons in this open market when no other stars are really available as competition. The best offer is out there. If Lillard and Harden are offered then another team will make a better offer than Simmons. It feels like Morey thinks if one of those guys becomes available then he's in the drivers seat, he's not. Teams can offer more for Simmons, they choose not to. They will offer more for Lillard and Harden.