NBA Rumors: The Philadelphia 76ers officially begin to withhold money from Ben Simmons. What will he do next?
There were two big questions regarding the Ben Simmons drama as soon as it was reported that he was going to be a no-show at Philadelphia 76ers training camp.
The first was whether the Sixers would actually fine him and withhold his paycheck and the second was if it came to that, whether that would actually force Simmons’ hand a bit. Late Friday, the Sixers answered the first of those questions. We’ll soon find out the answer to the second.
Sources: The 76ers are not paying Ben Simmons his $8.25 million payment due today as the three-time All-Star awaits a trade. Simmons still is not showing up to Philadelphia and has understood the ramifications of his holdout.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 1, 2021
It’s not exactly surprising that the Sixers elected to withhold Simmons his money. After all, that’s about all the leverage that they currently have at the moment. In a players-driven league, that’s quite possibly the only move that a team can pull in the event that their star demands a trade.
Though, I’m not sure anyone envisioned the Sixers actually doing this.
Even though Philadelphia has said they don’t want to trade Simmons, the overwhelming narrative was that they would eventually move him – whether that happened sooner or later. Now, however, it all but appears that the Sixers might be looking to force Simmons into camp – and, by proxy, to play for the team this season.
That might not be the best course of action in a vacuum but the Sixers clearly believe it’s the best-case scenario for them heading into the regular season. The ball is now in Simmons’ court. He’s done his best to make as much of a mess of the situation as possible but it’s clear that the Sixers are essentially calling his bluff.
It was reported that Simmons was willing to sit out the season if it came to that and the Sixers are basically saying: prove it.
I wasn’t sure if this situation between the Sixers and Simmons could get much uglier but it seems like it could. Doesn’t everything that pertains to money get that way?
The ball is now in Simmons’ court. What will he elect to do next? What strings are left for his camp to pull?