Ben Simmons doesn’t appear inclined to do the Sixers any favors when it comes to trying to boost his trade value and helping them find a deal. As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggested during a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic Philadelphia that Simmons and his camp weren’t fans of comments made – and actions taken – by head coach Doc Rivers and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey over the course of the year.
Rivers said at the end of the season that he wasn’t sure Simmons could be the point guard for a championship team, while Morey claimed last winter that the Sixers weren’t moving the three-time All-Star, despite the fact that the team was discussing him in James Harden trade negotiations.
“(Simmons’ camp is) saying to themselves, ‘Why should we help the 76ers out?’ when they feel like, when Doc Rivers said what he said, no one apologized,” Pompey said during his radio appearance. “Doc Rivers wasn’t reprimanded by the team or this and that. Or there’s an organization where, in the preseason last year, when they were saying they weren’t trying to trade him, but everyone knew they were trying to trade him.”
Within an in-depth look at the Simmons situation, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks say that when the Sixers’ brain trust – including owner Josh Harris – met Simmons and his representatives in Los Angeles last month, the team planned to tell the 25-year-old it couldn’t find a deal for him and hoped to move forward with him.
However, Simmons was steadfast in asking to be traded and made it clear he doesn’t intend to come to training camp if he’s still on the roster by the end of September. According to Bontemps and Marks, while the 76ers may be hoping Simmons can boost his trade value by getting off to a strong start during the regular season, “the point was made” during that L.A. meeting that increasing his value isn’t Simmons’ responsibility.
Here’s more on the Simmons situation:
- If Simmons doesn’t report to camp, the Sixers would have the option of suspending him and fining him 1/145th of his salary per day, according to Bontemps and Marks. Alternatively, the team could fine him $2,500 for his first missed practice, $5,000 for his second missed practice, and $7,500 for his third, plus “reasonable” fines for any missed practices after that.
- If the Sixers decide they don’t want to burn any bridges and choose not to suspend or fine Simmons for failing to show up to camp, Bontemps and Marks expect the NBA to step in. As the ESPN duo observes, the league won’t want to set a precedent that a player can decide not to report to camp without being penalized.
- While he concedes that anything is possible, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during an appearance on The Jump (video link) that he highly doubts Simmons and the Sixers will be able to repair their relationship.
- Noting that the Timberwolves and Cavaliers have been frequently mentioned as two of the teams that remain in the hunt for Simmons, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice considers what hypothetical Simmons trades with those clubs might look like.
It shows how mentally weak Simmons is if he wanted Doc to apologize for something he said that is 100% true. Simmons should be using these perceived slights as motivation like Embiid tries to.
It’s Simmons fault if 76ers are not able to win championships?
Why didn’t GMs and coach acquire the players similar to Payne, Portis, Griffin and more?
@Sillivan
So when does Ben take responsibility for the failures of Ben? Is it harsh for Doc to be asked that question and for him to say “I don’t know”? Must the organization kiss his a$$ and ignore the elephant in the room? And to put it back on management for not signing role players when you have a $30 mil Rolls Royce performing like a reallllly nice Cadillac is a huge part of the problem.
It couldn’t be more of Simmons job to build back his trade value, truly the separation of generations there, I can’t stomach lebron but he would NEVER say something so ridiculous, Simmons is goin to be bad for any locker room he goes to now
No player looking for a trade wants to increase the trade value. You may have liked the team your with, but its the same as a sign and trade. The Nets would do it for DLo, but KD wanted them to get something for it.
Why would a player looking to get traded want his new team to get weaker by overpaying for him? The ideal outcome for the player is they get moved for the least so the new situation they are in will be the best.
@Chapman
if ownership makes it clear they would rather suffer the storm of a player holding a tantrum than to trade for penny’s on the dollar then it’s in the players best interest to build up their value to help generate more interests from potential trade partners.
That would be the dumbest thing imaginable for an NBA franchise to do. Their owners and GM’s didn’t get to where they are by ignoring who holds power in today’s NBA, which is 100% the players. On balance that’s a net positive for the league, largely responsible for it being the only major professional league with a young, diverse fan base. But this is the downside. I feel for Philly fans, but they’re about to get screwed.
Or if it keeps getting worse his value keeps dropping as the situation becomes more untenable. BS may have to wait till the trade deadline, but if its super toxic they will still be shopping him, and the ask will slowly keep coming down. Hou was lucky with Harden he was desirable enough to get multiple teams involved, and was being traded because of the team not being what he wanted rather than him flaming out hard and choking.
Wait wait wait… So the 76ers told 1 truth and 1 lie, and he’s complaining about both! Hah- No, you can’t have it both ways!
They shouldn’t be commenting to the press about individual players. Keep everything in-house is a much smarter way to manage but who ever said Morey/Rivers we’re smart?
Doc’s famous for playing favorites on his teams, which is one reason they typically underperform. If you read stories about his Clippers teams, it’s like it was Kawhi and PG, who could do no wrong and whatever they wanted, and the rest of the team was just disposable bodies.
Its not about what was said, its about who it was said to. Talk in private dont air that s*** out in public. Doc was emotional off the loss and said public stuff about his player your supposed to avoid.
I hate that the most effective way to leave a team now is basically being as toxic as possible until management accommodates your request
It’s been that way. Tim Hardaway Senior stated it that I know of, Sprewell and Webber too I think.
Hell, Wilt Chamberlain demanded a trade out of Philly. That was in 1968.
I mean come on thats totally different. Several black players went to considerable trouble to get themselves out of situations where the city they were in treated them in a very racist manner, and they wanted out.
Lots of “bad with the press” types just hated playing in racist Boston. Kareem and other players of his ilk made good trouble because they were black and didnt like racism.
Sprewell choked his coach. Pretty effective way to get out of town.
I referred to Sprewell getting out of GSW. There was talk of him giving credit to Satan, probably planted to help get himself out, if I recall.
Should fine him for preach of contract fir every game and practice he misses . He will come back when his bank account is hurt . It’s a win win fir him to come back and raise his stock so he can be traded. Hate how players want it all their own way .
No he won’t. He probably has $50 or 60m in the bank already, invested soundly and he and generations hence are set for life. You can’t fine him into submission. He wouldn’t even think twice. The more you fine him the more determined he gets to get the hell outta dodge.
Ask Johnny Depp how hard it is to spend through half a billion. Goes quicker than you think if your not careful.
I don’t think Ben Simmons is a drug addict. Seems like a rather smart — if cynical, lazy, and narcissistic — young man if you ask me.
What’s a preach in contract? Can that be found in the Leaning Tower of Pizza?
Fir sure
Hoked on fonics werked fir me
76ers need to treat stars good.
76ers need to acquire more stars to win championships in the future.
Trade Simmons for Love, Sexton and 1 top 3 protected First
Upgrade?
I don’t hear any other Sixer complaining about their treatment by management.
Lol. Philly fans are upset. Yet the team created the entire mess. So they’re blaming the wrong guy.
They drafted and developed him. They could have moved him at any time before the dumpster fire started.
If he’s not a championship PG then why do expect a huge return? Morons!
Have to agree with this. The Embiid-Simmons pairing was never gonna work, and they should have traded him a long time ago, at least before last season.
Its not Embiid Simmons together, its not building the right team around them. You need those two and then 3 shooter with at least one point of attack ball handler.
Simmons is a 4/5 Im shocked it never worked playing him out of position without enough shooting.
Nothing but truth here
Simmons and his camp have handled this about as bad as they could. Just embarrassing for him and his camp.
If their goal is to get out of Philly, they’re handling it perfectly, just like AD did, and Harden did, and Butler did. And I think that is their goal and it is gonna work beautifully. This is reality in the NBA.
76ers need to improve their friendship with powerful Rich Paul
I think so too. Plus, Philly MGMT fired the first shots here. And I would think that someone in Simmons’ position wouldn’t mind deflating their trade value so their new team can give up less to acquire, right?
Totally. That’s part of the script. Last thing you wanna do is go out of your way to handicap your new team. Your salary is set in stone for years, so there’s no danger of losing money by playing and acting poorly.
Disagree 110% but I respect you’re opinion
Except you forget the differences in contract length. None of those dudes had 4 years left on their deal.
He wants out after the way they made him feel unwanted, surprising? He is under contract for another 4 years so he cant just leave. Other than being a problem how does he get out before 2025? Especially when the ask Morey thinks he is worth is 7 first round picks or Wiggins/Wiseman/Kuminga/Moody and 2 future firsts.
If thats the ask they will never deal him, and the horrible Philly fans will be miserable to him once season starts. I would want out too. Rather than be blamed all season for underperformance based on the whole roster not just him. One of the top 3 contributors to the team is being treated as the only problem with the worst fan base in professional sports outside of some of the nuts soccer fans.
Best way to get a little jab in on this punk is to trade him to Minnesota lol!!!
Except if the trade went well from Minnesota’s end they could have Russell, Towns, Simmons and Edwards for a core. Beasley would have to be included for salary but Beasley, Prince, Davis and a lot of picks for Simmons.
The deal is never made without one of Kat Dlo Ant. There is no world where the 4 of them play together. I think the Wolves may regret bring DLo in even though he is Kats boy. Dude just doesnt play defense. Wont try, and is to ball dominant. Wiggins is better than DLo because the GSW got him to buy in and play hard D, oh and not being option one got him a lot more wide open shots so his efficiency went way up.
I hear ya both…but until Glen Taylor is fully extinguished from this franchise…they will never win. Who wants to play in Minnesota anyway? Land of 10,000 taxes and probably no police in the near future !!
This has been brewing for some time, when Brown was HC too. All kinds of red flags, yet many people still think it is a workout problem.
Simmons did not speak during film sessions with Brown, per Butler. Embiid didn’t either, but you know he is always available to comment… He just knew the routine.
Not sure what Simmons’ “demands” are, but I would put him at PG, surround him with shooters, and brace for a fast pace. The court is too small for him!
He is an amazing small ball C they keep trying to play at PG.
Ben pushes for it. In the playoffs, Rivers mostly took the job away except for a couple single quarters, with the infamous non-effort results.
Good suggestion, that Simmons gave up on loud negative Sixer fans. He is quiet himself. Most fans forgave him his injured start, but maybe something else was heard.
How is it not his job to rebuild his value????
Why would he care what the 76ers got back in a trade for him?
If anything, Simmons has motivation to reduce his value, so his new team would not have to give up so much to get him.
And maybe he has been with his play, if not his words.
But if so, he was confounded by GM Morey, who asked for so much in trade.
Ding ding ding. On top of that somebody has to get the ask down from Philly to the point that another team will actually be willing to make the deal. If only they had lowered the price some before the draft, and every FA signing so that rosters are basically set, and no one is left to sign if you trade out players.
Just punish Simmons and trade him to Houston for whatever you can get.
Simmons like Carson wentz was to mentally weak to handle the pressure of playing in philly. He isn’t a warrior like A.I or jojo . Good riddance.
Or counterpoint, Philly fans are the f***ing worst in sports, and shouldnt be surprised after years of doing it that the toxic nature there runs people out and hurts performance.
Didnt you have fans getting banned for bad behavior towards player during this playoff run?
Simmons had 4 years to improve his game and develop the mental toughness to be a philly player, he did neither my friend. He deserves every boo he got and every boo he is going to get next time he shows his face in the greatest sports town there is IF you lay your guts on the hardwood, like A.I. like jojo.
The Knicks fan spat on Trae Young, Rondo’s brother got kicked out for yelling at Westbrook, the Celtics fan got booted for throwing a water bottle at Kyrie, etc. It happens all over the place.
Counter counter point, Joel embiid loves philly. The fans hate hard and love harder. Ben got nothing but support in this city until just recently. I agree philly fans are some of the worst, but they also love with the same passion. AI another superstar loved by the city. It’s a blue collar fan base, you play hard, work hard at your craft and and they will love you for it
Agree my friend, tough town for tough hard nosed players. Simmons plays like he’s got all game when in reality he’s got a shallow game. He doesn’t give a 150 percent each and every play each and every night. See you Ben.
As Cavs fans do we want Simmons’ drama on our young developing squad?? I’d be willing to chance it by sending Love + cash, Sexton and a 2nd rounder. Not much more. Leave Okoro-who is gonna be very good , Garland, Mobley , and Allen off the table.
If he pouts then ship him out and recoup. If he works out, weve got an elite defensive team that should possibly contend in 2 years.
Just don’t give up the core.
@Viking
im against that trade for the same reason Philly wants to move him. you can’t count on him when it matters most. With regards to what pieces I’d like to move IF they were seriously looking to do that I’d rather trade Garland instead of Sexton. Sexton is not the point guard of this team so why have Simmons and Garland together? Im in love with Sexton as a SG. He’s improved every year and maintains his efficiency while improving his scoring and passing.
Okoro is athletic but that is most of the story, so I would include him. I don’t think Garland feels a need to set the scene… He is effective off the ball too… So Ben would be PG… it keeps him happy. Philly gets Sexton & Okoro basically, a scorer and high pick.
A 3-team trade would offer better options
I can’t help but laugh any time someone suggests that the Sixers are waiting for Lillard to become available so they can trade Simmons for him. The only way Portland would do that is if Philly does what the Nets did in the Harden trade and attach 3-4 first round picks and 3-4 swaps in the deal. It’s so obvious that no one is even considering giving what the Sixers consider “fair value” for their disgruntled star player. They’re not getting any first round picks back for him, if they really want to get a trade done they’re the ones sending out at least one first rounder to rid themselves of him.
He is still worth way more than shipping him out for matching salary with picks attached. BS is a good player and has value just not nearly worth what Philly is asking, which is the package for a top 5 player. You dont get the KD package for BS after the way the season ended.
f*** him. let him sit on the bench and get paid wait for him to flip off the fan just start saying derogatory comments about the team while he’s still part of them so you can suspend them without pay so he screws itself
Flak the Sixers and Morey. If you know this game and you should know your own players. You freaking gave him the contract. Why didn’t you move him before the draft. His value was at its best then. Every knowledge fan in the worldknows Philly is not forgetting what he did. And that Ben was not coming back after all the Bizwaz that was said and went on. Sixers only have themselves to blame.
My analytics says Morey Sucks. Go and beg the Kings for
Bagley, Halliburton, Heild, #1 pick >>> FOR
Ben and Maxey (another wannabee).
Sixers are contenders. Get rid of ALL malcontents . Now
Seriously how ridiculous & unprofessional the Sixers can be???
I mean is Ben’s professional obligation to devalue himself, so his new team can be better, also he doesn’t owe anything to a team that has not behaved appropriately with him!
I hope he comes true with his stance & PHI gets royally screwed with his trade!
Not my money. Let him rot for a while.
Agreed. Send him home and let him sit quietly until he begs for a $1 buyout. He is a cancerous selfish player. Remember he sat out college tournaments because he felt it might lower his value in the draft.
I think they should just move him to PF and then let Maxey take the point. Simmons and Embiid could play high/low…he is a good cutter and it would put him closer to the basket to help with his shooting. He could still past out of the post to open shooters. Maxey Curry Harris Simmons Embiid with their bench is a contender.