NBA Rumors: Ben Simmons is close to an agreement with the Philadelphia 76ers that will get him to report to camp, one week before the start of the regular season.
Credit the Philadelphia 76ers.
Ben Simmons and his camp tried all the tricks in the “Get your star traded handbook” and the Sixers didn’t blink. With no real traction on a potential trade, and with the regular season set to begin in a little more than a week, you can mark down a win for the Sixers in a small battle against Simmons and his camp.
According to a recent report, Simmons is close to an agreement with the team that will get him to report to the team. It remains to be seen whether anything has changed in terms of his desire to be traded, but this is at least a small victory for the Sixers.
The plan remains for the Sixers to continue canvassing the league for trades, but the possibility of Simmons reporting to the team has increased in recent days, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/zzS14E6nm6
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 11, 2021
This was probably the only move that the Sixers could’ve hoped for without appealing trade offers. The hope now is that they could try and repair Simmons’ trade value and then move him in the future. For Simmons, this move likely came due to the financial burden that was beginning to come.
Simmons was already being withheld payment from the Sixers and if there was no trade imminent, it really didn’t make much sense to continue to lose coin.
How the dynamics will work when/if Simmons does report to the team remains to be seen. It’s been reported thoroughly and it’s not something that can simply be reversed. I’m not sure if this is the brightest idea, but it may be the best for both sides in a less-than-ideal situation.
Either way, it should be interesting for everyone on the outside looking in. How will this play out for both Simmons and the Sixers? I’m not sure and there are still plenty of details that need to be reported, but this should absolutely be interesting.