Ben Simmons appears headed for a holdout from the Philadelphia 76ers camp.
The Ben Simmons vs. Philadelphia 76ers saga has continued to wage on. Now Marc Stein has reported that Simmons will not join the team for training camp, causing a further divide between the two parties.
How long can Ben Simmons hold out?
There appears to be no active deal on the table for Simmons. You’d assume that there’d be plenty of interest in Simmons, but according to reports, there aren’t many offers on the table at the moment.
A deal could still happen but it appears that the current asking price is still too high. Daryl Morey does not seem inclined to lower his rumored asking price.
With reports that Ben Simmons could be fined up to $227,000 for each practice he misses. How much salary is he willing to forfeit to prove his point?
Simmons losing money doesn’t make the Sixers trade him quicker. His trade value doesn’t decline or increase with him not reporting. Everyone knows what Simmons is as a player.
That is where Simmons loses leverage in the situation. He can post as many videos of himself shooting 3’s in an empty gym as he wants. For years we have seen Instagram posts and tweets of Ben Simmons shooting from deep in pickup games. We have seen no attempt of Simmons to add shooting to his NBA offensive repertoire.
This holdout does not give Simmons any leverage to force a trade. The Sixers are still going to make the playoffs sans Simmons. The holdout just prolongs the inevitable trade as Simmons will not be able to showcase any improvement to his game.
Many teams will have to assume the Simmons they are trading for is the one from last season. A player who shot 10 total 3’s, and shot sub 40 percent from the free-throw line in the playoffs. Now if Simmons were to play in the preseason, and showcase his improved shooting skills and lack of shooting hesitation, perhaps that would result in Simmons’ trade value to grow expeditiously.
After a rocky season, many can sympathize with Simmons wanting to start fresh with a new team in a new city. Based on the lack of trade offers and the impending fines, many have to wonder does it pay to hold out. It seems to prove his point; Simmons will be paying fines for a long time.