While the Sixers have tried to encourage Ben Simmons to show up for training camp next week, the three-time All-Star hasn’t budged from his stance, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Wojnarowski, Simmons won’t report for camp and intends not to play another game for Philadelphia. He hasn’t spoken to the team at all since August, when he conveyed his plan not to attend training camp, Wojnarowski adds.
As Wojnarowski explains, Simmons is aware of the possible penalties he could face as a result of not attending camp, including fines and a suspension. However, he appears prepared to play hardball with the team, with the regular season just four weeks away.
Despite Simmons’ strong stance, his leverage may be somewhat limited. He still has four years and $147MM left on his contract and Philadelphia probably has a playoff-caliber roster even without him on the court, which means the Sixers can afford to be relatively patient in finding a deal they like. If Simmons doesn’t report, the team could recoup much of his salary via fines.
Sources told Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com on Monday that the 76ers were expecting “some sort of absence” from Simmons to open the preseason. However, Neubeck also says that most people believe the 25-year-old will eventually show up, given the unprecedented nature of a lengthy holdout in the modern NBA.
Philadelphia’s asking price for Simmons was extremely high throughout the offseason, given his age, his résumé, and the fact that he’s under contract for four more years. That price may come down a little now, but the Sixers appear unwilling to accept 50 cents on the dollar for a player like Simmons, who is limited by his lack of a jump shot but is still one of the league’s best play-makers and defenders.
As Neubeck writes, the 76ers could probably get a deal done today if they were willing to accept a package heavy on young players and draft picks, but they remain focused on a return that won’t compromise their ability to contend for a title in 2022.
“There are a few deals you could say, we do this, and we’ll gamble that sometime later, we’ll take draft picks and turn it back into having (a title) chance,” one team source told Neubeck. “But why do that? … There’s no reason to go get draft picks right now because you could just do it all at once. Why take the risk that you do that and you can’t flip back out of it? It makes no sense with Joel (Embiid) in his prime.”
Everything is fine. Nothing to see here.
Philliesfan: actually I agree with your take. Sucks when it happens to your team, but it happens to every team eventually.
Players careers are short and good organizations can turn things around quickly.
So other than some harsh feelings and maybe a disjointed season start the team itself is full of talent. Just figure out the best way to get some value back and wash your hands.
The process is playing out just as planned…….
The process ended the moment Sam Hinkie was fired. If he was still there then Philly wouldn’t be having these issues
I could see Adam silver stepping in on this situation. Simmons has no leverage you have four years remaining on the contract. Cant force a team to trade you for paper. He needs to suit up repair his status and get traded next year. They need a Aaron Rodgers type of agreement
The funny thing is Ben never going to improve he hasn’t and he been in the league what like 5 years . At this point he just a over paid Rondo . Get what you can and move on
Other than those 3 seasons Rondo was actually good for the Celtics in like 2009, this is obnoxiously bad comp and shame on the people who liked it.
Ben Simmons might be a good defender and playmaker but so is jrue holiday, and holiday is not a cancer for his locker room and look at his trade packages, every still thinks Ben Simmons can be some great player when he has proven since he was drafted he is what he is, philly fans are trippin so hard on his value
He might be a good defender? Lol that’s like saying KD might be a good scorer. If you don’t understand the fact that Ben Simmons is a great basketball player then you should definitely stop watching basketball asap
He’s MUCH better than Rondo. Can’t comment about the overpaid part, I’m always surprised at how 20% of the NBA is close to max salary while 50% is at minimum salary, so I have no idea how evaluate Simmons value.
Why bring up Rogers when dude has won mvps and even a super bowl. Sixers have every right to do what they want even if it dumb. Since Ben done nothing for them other than take them 30 mill from them
6.0 WS last year and you say its nothing? Lol ok sure tank his value some more, genius
He has 147 million reasons not to miss games but if he wants to hold our abs get docked gamechecks I’m sure Sixers won’t mind keeping their badly spent money
Once again, another “yay for the faceless billionaires who get to keep their money” comment. You people are so bizarre. It is NOT your money, it is NEVER your money, STOP acting like its your money.
I think the faceless billionaires just want to spend the money on a star player not a bunch of trash contracts. Ben Simmons is making them do that. It’s the NBA they want to spend money on players, it’s not about the contact but the value it holds.
Do you get paid if you decide to stop doing your job? Why should we have sympathy for an overpaid athlete who thinks he doesn’t have to fulfill his side of the contract? I’m all for the faceless billionaire in this situation.
Not sure what silver is going to do? Force Simmons to play? Sure Simmons is losing money, but he seems fine with that. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s still gonna get paid. Sixers really have no leverage. A sitting Simmons doesn’t have a chance to improve. They were hoping he played at the beginning to recoup some value after they essentially called him useless. Not that teams would forget, but teams would buy at least the regular season Simmons.
@Down with OBP
You really nailed the whole situation here. Kudos.
The league stepped in forcing the Colangelos on us and look what happened
people seem to forget that, or are completely unaware of that. They continue to talk about “the process” like it’s still a thing and that the league didn’t step in and do what they did to nip that in the bud.
Simmons has leverage if he’s willing to take the fines. He can sit at home as his trade value plummets and wait it out as the 76ers continue to struggle without him. They won’t be horrible per say because they still have Embiid and Harris and will win more than they lose but without a player of his caliber they won’t be a true contender.
Every day they wait the less of a return they’ll get because even if Dame or Beal shake lose the 76ers will have to attach assets to Simmons to aquire either one.
A star like Beal shaking loose is there only hope of any kind of real deal.
Beal wants out, has one year left so any new team needs a new deal, and expresses publicly that the 6ers are the team he wants to sign with, so Simmons is dealt in a one for one ish scenario.
Now Embiid is awesome, but Philly fans are literally the worst in any sport in or city, and the team seems to be a s**t show right now, so do I think its likely a star bails out the 6ers by demanding to go there and only there saving their bacon…. I doubt it.
That’s a good point, even a home town kid like Lowry wouldn’t even entertain the thought of going there. Another point is say the 6ers do work out a trade to Portland or Minnesota and Ben just says “meh- I’m good here sitting on my couch playing 2k and having amorous relationships with supers models until you trade me to the Lakers, Clippers or Warriors.”
Simmons has earned his reputation, that’s not on Philly fans. He’s been here 5 years and still hasn’t done anything to improve his shooting. His jump shot is such an Achilles Heel that the 6ers are stewed every year in the playoffs. The greats work to improve the weaknesses in their game each year. Simmons won’t put in the effort.
He earned his reputation as 1 of the top 20 basketball players in the world. He’s never been a shooter & it was your own fault if you ever expected him to become a shooter. He’s great without being a shooter & this has been the case for years. Philly fans are literally the worst tho. They still haven’t reached an understanding of who Ben is as a basketball player. Same with media & apparently same with Doc. Philly doesn’t deserve a guy like Ben & going forward they no longer have to worry about him being on their team
He is a talented player but will always be his team’s Achilles heel if he can’t shoot. Plenty of players worked on their game and improved their jump shots. He doesn’t have to have a great jump shot, average would mean other teams would respect it. He just disappears at crunch time in the playoffs.
That being said the Sixers should have traded him a year ago before he had another chance to tank his reputation again in the playoffs.
You are bad at being a basketball fan
Obviously you didn’t watch him disappear in the 4th Quarter in the last few playoff games. He is a talented player but no one will ever win a championship with him .
Many of us have been posting about the bad team chemistry for the past 3 years. It was Brett Brown’s fault now it’s Rivers and Morey…next!
It’s the same situation if they trade him for a subpar return of say Hield and Bagley. You don’t improve the championship contender status. He doesn’t have any leverage, he would only have leverage if their were a legit offer on the table that makes the team better or as good. Adding some rotational players doesn’t do that, so his leverage is nonexistent
Simmons could retire tomorrow, sign for 5 million a season in the CBA by Friday, dominate for years and become a legend and help offset his salary losses with shoe sales just like Stephen Marbury.
I still don’t see how that is leverage…he can retire tomorrow and go bag groceries, it doesn’t change his “leverage”. Also, Marbury didn’t walk away from $150 million guaranteed dollars. There is no comparison. He could be the legend of the CBA and no one will in nba circles will care. He will fade into obscurity and be the next in a long line of “what-could-have-beens”
It’s a bold startegy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for them.
link to youtube.com
Fox, Sankara— It’s too easy to say Hinkie would have avoided this… Although, I think, all it would take from a 6er GM to get the finals is cubbyholing HC Brown as a youth coach or not falling for HC Rivers. I.E., any other decent coach
If Simmons was committed, he would certainly be shaken by Rivers’ rotations. Rivers’ actions were unprecedented in this area and nobody is calling him a genius.
DannyQ— 6ers won’t likely get that subpar a return. Haliburton is a PG of the future based on early performance.
The Sixers messed up by letting all of browns good assistants walk. They should have fired brown the second Monty Williams started getting calls. I wasn’t a huge fan of the names being thrown around before they settled on doc…D’Antoni and ty lue were finalists if memory serves me correctly. Donovan might have been an interesting choice, but I think they picked Doc to get the immature Sixers stars to take the next step. Embiid sure did, Simmons notsomuch
Tobias did, so Sixers got that. I presume Embiid got catered to, at least more than Simmons… part of the negativity bugging Simmons.
Notice how I talked myself into your take. Not sure Hinkie is a genius, but even good would be enough.
I have liked the young players the 6ers have selected. But that’s not necessarily a good thing… It could mean the 6er FO picks players on an “impress-me” (impress the GM) basis instead of going by fit with culture.
But they have been winning.
Doc said early in the season he did not care about Ben’s Shooting. Doc had one good year he has choked since. Doc will not lead the Sixers to the Promised land. He had Chris Paul and did not do it.
I still think the best idea is Andrew Wiggins. He’s a scorer not yet in his prime, who improved dramatically last year, who also plays excellent defense.
DeAndre Hunter is a younger, better & much much cheaper version of Wiggins. Makes way more sense to go after Dre than Drew
@Sankara
Why would Atlanta want Simmons? Why take the ball out of Young’s hands?
Reason of losing games
Embiid should not talk about open shots and free throw …..
Simmons is not happy about it?
If I’m the sixers I just let him sit and fine him
And you’ll be a play-in team lol
With Embiid and Harris they wouldn’t be a play-in team. My guess is that they would probably finish 4th or 5th maybe 6th. Better than the Hawks, Pacers, Knicks and Bulls but not as good as the Nets, Bucks and Celtics.They wouldn’t be close to contending though.
Andrew Wiggins makes that 76ers team REALLY good, sayin….
Have you seen this team play without Ben? They got swept in the 1st rd without him last yr. Lol the fact that you think this team is better than the Hawks without Ben when they literally just lost to the Hawks with Ben says volumes about your basketball knowledge lol. Theyve won 3 playoff series in 3 postseasons with Ben & 0 in the last decade without him. Ben played poorly in 1 series & y’all are crucifying him but apparently blind to the fact that Tobias also played poorly in that same series. Where is the Tobias hate? He’s not even a good defender or passer like Ben
The 76ers literally just lost to the Hawks because of Ben. He couldn’t contain Trae and couldn’t make up for it on offense. Simmons reluctance to not only shoot but to pass up a wide open dunk cost them that series. Harris is a very good borderline star but he’s not expected to be a top 20 player or have an impact like Simmons.
The Hawks are a good young team but they’re still growing. They got a taste last year but to convince people outside of Atlanta that they were more than just a flash in the pan they’re going to have to do it again.
He couldn’t contain Trae? Did you see gm7 of that series? See this is a prime example of someone that should look inward at their own shortcomings as a basketball fan. Ben Simmons is by any measure a great basketball player. You on the other hand are a horrible basketball fan. And it has to be said that playing NBA basketball is MUCH harder than being a basketball fan.
Did you see any other game? C’mon now even you yourself said that Simmons is more than that one game 7. Trae had 29-11 for the series compared to 25 and 9 during the regular season.
A good basketball fan would know to be a truly great player you have to work on your craft. LeBron and Jordan worked on their jumpers so that they wouldn’t be so one dimensional. Bryant developed a post game and to trust his teammates, Duncan and Stockton learned to be extensions of their coach. Heck even your boy Trae in his short time in the league has learned that he doesn’t need to always be the hero. I honestly could go on and on with examples of players became better.
You also have to show leadership to be great whether it’s a lead by example approach like Duncan or more vocal like Jordan or somewhere in between like James.
Simmons has done none of this. He hasn’t added a thing to his game on or off the court. If anything he’s regressed. I’m not saying he’s trash he just needs to learn it takes more than height and athleticism to be great.
And what would the difference be if they trade him for scraps? Might as well wait him out.
And you obviously don’t follow the NBA lol (see, I can do that too).
Play in team? Get a clue.
Now cue all the bad trade offers by homers saying he will be traded for nothing. We will trade our back up PG and over paid F plus 2 draft picks with low value. poor sixers fans must hear all those bad trade offers.
Or should we listen to the 6ers who say they can totally get a package of young pieces and draft picks if they want to right now, despite asking for that deal already and getting hung up on by every team. They wanted draft assets from the Spurs. The 6ers should realize that they needed to modify the price to make a deal, and dont seem to understand that the longer they wait the less they get, unless another disgruntled star with less time left on contract demands out and will only go to Philly.
Sixers received some trade but that was way before the draft. Right now all they have been offered is teams giving up very little now. Morey best hope is if a contender has a bad injury and goes all in. Unfortunately not many contenders has assets to make a big trade.
I’m dying on my Wiggins-Simmons straight up hill whether you like it or not!!! Maybe add a future pick to Wiggs but yeah, I think that’s about Simmons trade value at this second (reminder that trade value is different to on-court value).
will. not. happen.
It would need to be a little more than Wiggins. Sixers should ask for JTA who could bring back some defense and a couple future 1st rounders.
Ben Simmons Adamant About Not Attending Camp, Not Playing For Sixers
Good, who needs him???!!!??
He Sux and a bad attitude.
He should go and see Sister Mary Stigmata, she will fix his wagon and then listen to what Reverend Cleophaus James has got to say!
The Philadelphia 76ers is who needs him
Sankara – are you Ben or are you just the guy who “services” him? Never seen a random poster defend a guy so hard that he doesn’t even know. Get off his jock son.
Literally every NBA needs him.
He could easily get that new contract through camp cuts as an Affiliate Player. Sign a glamorous G-League contract. However, we all know the Sixers organization would never be so kind to the fans (who would love to watch that circus) or to Ben (with that new contract).
Looks like we’ll be reading these headlines until one of the sides gives in.
Sixers are the one who threw him under the bus….Both Morey and Rivers should be canned!
Simmons threw himself under the bus by not working on his shot.
They knew he didnt have a shot when they chose not to trade him last winter when much better offers were on the table. Dude has never had a shot and they kept him then burned him for the thing they knew he couldnt do.
Dude works on his shot, but it hasnt helped.
They’re all to blame. Simmons underperformed, Rivers should have kept his mouth shut during pre/post game interviews and Morey rejected legitimate offers asking for too much. This season will be a step back for Philly.
Morey either didn’t believe Simmons would sit out or over played his hand by a lot thinking Simmons would show up. Rivers should have been the moderator and stepped in to bring peace between the two but instead River’s ego of placing the blame for the lost on somebody else.
Doc is the main problem lol how would he be the moderator??
This^
God forbid your bosses hold you accountable, right?
It’s not for the boss to hold him accountable it’s for his teammates to do that and THAT’s why this situation is a mess. Unfortunately Embiid is the leader of the team and he’s just not the right person for the job. They needed an older proven leader, still performing at a high level to lead but that just didn’t exist on the team. Unfortunately it’s all a mess now and no one will come out a winner in the end. It was 100% avoidable but egos got in the way.
Yup, this is the fatal flaw in “The Process” – you can draft all these young studs but if you don’t surround them with the right, high IQ veteran leaders, you end up with situations like this. Embiid is an elite superstar, but he’s the same age pretty much as Ben, its really hard to lead when you lack experience. MJ couldnt even do it, Embiid cant be expected to either. Iguodala is why GSW went to the next level for this exact reason.
He’s literally one of the best basketball players in the world. Is there a point when Philly fans hold themselves accountable for being horrible fans & exacerbating this situation?
You mean the same American pro sports fans who are spending 2021 fighting each other in the stands daily over literally nothing, like the trash they are? Not sure any pro sports fans (other than myself) will ever be that self-aware, Philly fans sure won’t be.
You were doing great Marty until the “Not sure any pro sports fans (other than myself) will ever be that self-aware.” part.
Sankara. Right. Philly fans are so horrible that we cheered for this dude for 5 years. We wanted him to get better. He showed so many brilliant flashes and when his team needed him to lace up his shoes in the biggest moments , he buckled like a belt in one of the most embarrassing playoff performances I have ever seen. And now he wants to cry about it?! And you have the audacity to blame the fans?
We all know you love some Ben Simmons but get lost with that “Philly fans are horrible fans” garbage
Smh… Of course y’all cheered while he was leading the team to the top of the East. That’s extremely easy to do smh. I’m guessing you were still cheering while he was dominant in the 1st rd vs DC as well. But once he had 1 bad playoff series & the media turned on him (same way they eventually turn on literally every Black athlete ever) the Philly fans completely forgot about the fact that the franchise was absolutely terrible before he showed up. It’s not just a Philly thing tho, I’m from Atlanta & fans here do the same thing. Philly fans are definitely worse but I mean it’s just western culture to hate on athletes, especially when it’s a Black athlete. But also you should go back & rewatch that series. Ben was great defensively in that series & was average at worst as a distributor. He was horrible as a ft shooter & continued to be a non shooter but any basketball fan that is worth anything should know by now that Ben will never be a shooter. He has been dominant at every level without being a shooter and he’ll continue to do so. If you expect him to be taking & making jump shots you are setting yourself up for disappointment. But like where have y’all been the past few years? He’s never been a shooter lol neither was Shaq
Exactly. A dude living in Atlanta knows about the pulse of fans in a different city. And I’m not sure where you get this narrative that we hate on “black athletes” nonsense
As a great player (and he is a great player) you’re supposed to dominate lesser competition. Nothing new or exciting there. It’s the fact of the matter in how this team lost to the Atlanta Hawks that’s troubling. Lots of blame to go around. But when your other “superstar” won’t even take a shot because he’s scared to death, there’s a big problem. And it’s an even bigger problem that you are such a damn liability on offense that all the Hawks had to do was foul his ass and put him on the line!!! You put your team in hole! And Doc couldn’t take him out because he was needed on defense.
He’ll never be this world beater of a shooter. I’m not asking that. I’m just asking to have the balls to take at least 1 shot! How many shots did Ben take in the 4th quarter of those last few games?
As great a defender, distributer and passer as he is, that’s all he’ll ever be and that’s fine. But it’s time to go. But stop it with the BS narrative that it’s the fan’s and the city’s fault.
This is 100% on Ben Simmons. His inability to raise his game when the lights are the brightest is not the fan’s fault. All this dude became was a liability and didn’t have the stones to play aggressive and help his team beat a LESSER team in game 7 of a playoff series at home. And now he wants to take his ball and go play elsewhere because he couldn’t handle it. Grow up.
If he thinks he’s going to get what he wants he’s going to be sitting at home on his ass for a long time. I’m sorry but I’m done. I’ve cheered this man and have defended him for 5 years. Enough is enough. You pull this crybaby garbage like you’re the victim?! Stop
Sixers are wasting everyone time trade him
Move on. Sixers will be better off without him .
I agree they should move on but they will NOT be better without him. They had a chance to improve but blew it by not trading him during the draft and/or before free agency.
You must not remember what they were before Ben got there
I do, before Simmons the 76ers and Hinkie were beginning “The Process” Hardly a fair comparison.
Literally 1 playoff series win in 15yrs before Ben showed up (mainly bc DRose blew his knee out). 3 since Ben showed up & became the starting pg
Andrew Wiggins is a better fit in PHI than Ben Simmons is right now.
Lol man y’all have horrible memories. You think the series vs ATL was the only thing Ben ever did in Philly? He’s a main reason they were the 1seed. Remember what happened when he got hurt last yr? 1st rd sweep
Wiggins is a better fit though AND he never gets hurt.
How is he a better fit? He’s not a pg. Philly would still have a huge hole at pg. Also Ben is just clearly a better basketball player overall
Simmons isn’t a PG either
You obviously never seen him play
I’ve seen him play for 5 years. He’s not a point guard. He’s this weird hybrid
I wish the NBA had a buyout forfeiture where Simmons is allowed to forfeit his contract but can only play for league minimum for the remaining years of his contract and doesn’t accumulate NBA service time until his remaining years are over.plus the 76ers get guaranteed cap room to resign someone else.
Why, just why?
There was a route to free agency for Simmons but he chose the path that would pay him the most. Why should Simmons keep his contract when he could have just turned down his rookie scale max contract, did one year of play and then sign with the next team? the NBAPA also agreed to these terms too when negotiating salary structures.
@Codeeg
I agree. Should be some sort of penalty on a player demanding a trade. They stay long enough to get that max contract and then demand a trade where thr team is then forced to take back equal salary which usually ends up being a bad contract or several role players.
Current generation of players have that AAU mentality with zero understanding for what they agreed to. He signed a contract. He performed poorly in the playoffs when it came to shooting. The team expressed an interest in trading him – what did he expect? Sensitive that he got called out for poor play? Happens to all of us at work, including him. Get over it. It’s a business, just like his frame of mind was when he signed that big contract – it’s a business. Instead of getting pissed, practice your craft so you’re not called out. Improve.
I used to be a fan of his…
AAU? He is Australian dont think they played AAU basketball there.
He might need a thicker skin, but everyone from coach, manager, other star, and Philly fans shat all over him for making mistakes, sure, but not losing the series alone either. You could even say its more on Doc since when a player is in a head trip like that its the coaches main job to get them out of their own head.
really? a coach has to be a master of psychology now. Ben just sucks at taking accountability.
That’s literally what an NBA coach is when trying to mesh millionaires personalities together. Getting his players to buy in
AAU is an analogy to the mindset. Didn’t say he played AAU.
I’d tend to agree on the Doc aspect, but it’s hard since he does own a ring. But in the end, Ben needs to improve himself as opposed to taking the easy way out, otherwise that will be his legacy – such a bad shot he’ll pass up a dunk.
He won’t get fined a dime, if the sixers try he will cite mental health and start a media war. Give the baby his bottle.
Why wouldn’t the Sixers fine him? They don’t need to save face anymore. Let Ben rot on the bench and lose money, it’s what he deserves.
That’s just not how the NBA works and EVERYONE knows it. The players and the union work in harmony snd Simmons situation won’t ruin it. He’ll be traded soon.
I’m just enjoying watching “The Process” play itself out.
The process that landed them mvp candidate Joel embiid, launched them to the top of the eastern conference with a #1 seed last year…the process worked. Hate all you want, but the Sixers were perennial one-and-done bottom seed playoff fodder until they started the process. There is absolutely zero question they are better off now than before they started the process
As a Warriors fan, it’s been absolutely hilarious and corny watching “The Process” stay processing while my team literally made 5 Finals in a row with zero media hype like that, when it was actually a similar style team-build.
Your team was processed from the beginning. The dubs weren’t contenders until their high draft picks (curry and klay) developed. The whole point of the process was to get superstars. There aren’t nearly as many stars drafted outside of the lottery as there are in the lottery. The process has been over for like 3-4 years. Once they made the playoffs and went from accumulating assets to trading assets for fultz, Harris, and butler
Marty is a front-runner who was not a Warriors fan until they started winning, so of course he knows nothing about how terrible the Warriors were for the better part of two decades before drafting Curry, Klay, and Draymond.
Go sit at home Ben, and collect fines until no one remembers you any more.
Ben has done too much in his career to be forgotten, so go & hate on your pathetic CHI team, they are the team no one ever remembers, right?
Andrew Wiggins for Ben Simmons straight up makes both teams way better.
Simmoms will end up in SF. Myers and Morey will compromise.
If Wiggs-Ben happens both teams are easily winning 60+
Doc Rivers made a huge mistake when he tried to blame Simmons for postseason failure. He should have taken the heat and responsibility instead. Rivers is not a leader, and lacks character and integrity. All he has done in the last few yrs in laugh all the way to the bank with his daughter-like girlfriend. Shame on you Doc, and stop pretending to be an activist with social justice with crocodile tears. LOL.
100% correct. The NBA needs to stop recycling these scammer/legacy coaches and bring in new blood.
Simmons have EVERY reason to be upset with Sixers. They didnt have his back and Simmons’ marketability and reputation has taken major hit. He was perennial DPOY candidate and All Star, and now it will be tough to fix his image. Sixers dont deserve any cooperation from Simmons.
You’re 100% correct, the Sixers blew it and ruined the chemistry on the team but it probably started with the hiring of Morey and Rivers.
Stop. Was it the sixers fault this dude buckled like a belt in crunch time and didn’t show up for his team because he was scared to death? Was it the sixers fault this guy refused to work on his game so he wouldn’t be an offensive liability? Was it the sixers who posted meaningless videos of himself shooting 3s in an empty gym?
And was it the fans’s fault this guy wants out of town because he can’t handle the pressure?
They don’t deserve any cooperation from him? Hey that’s fine. He can sit on his ass and cry about it.
If you’re a grown ass man and you blame others for your shortcomings, then maybe you have more important things to worry about then a game
Lol he’s making it seem like it’s his decision to not play for the Sixers. They don’t want YOU back! Acting like some kind of diva where you make it seem like you’re being inconvenienced by having to attend something. Bum.
I don’t know why but I really dislike Simmons. Also, I’m very happy to see Redick retire, hate him too
Philly actually doesn’t want him, they only want him back so he can raise his trade value. I see no reason why he should assist them. They made their decision but failed to pull the trigger on any trade offer because they were waiting for Portland to move Dame. We’ll that ain’t happening…..
Simmons doesn’t need an outside game. He needs to be more aggressive and finish a higher percentage of his attempts near the hoop, and shoot 65-70% from the line. He misses a lot of cookies.
I see a lot of blame aimed at Philadelphia fans, but ultimately believe Doc Rivers effed up badly by publicly blaming him.. Bullshit your way through post-game media and ignore questions if you have to – what Rivers did was unprofessional and cowardly. Embiid didn’t handle the situation well either.
Rivers should have been fired following the post-game debacle.
I hope the Sixers fans all realize by now that whatever trade the team ends up making isn’t going to make them better, at least in the long term. They won’t be getting a bunch of draft picks like Houston did for Harden, nor will they be receiving a star player in exchange for Simmons (unless it’s an aging one like John Wall).
His trade value is dropping by the day, so if the Sixers are smart they will just swallow their pride and rip off the band-aid before this wound festers too much.
You know you make some great posts that I agree with when you’re not being a insufferable Rocket homer.
He is being “a insufferable Rocket homer”— he advocates Morey settling down to a Simmons-for-Wall trade.
Not happening. Simmons for Gordon+jGreen+Tate maybe.
These guys are setting the stage for non-guaranteed contracts. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the next agreement end in a lockout because of it. If I were an owner I wouldn’t want to deal with this nonsense or dudes like Harden or Griffin.
Houston’s demise started with the cheapo owner when he refused to run it back with the team that came within a hamstring of the finals just to get lower than the tax line. Which was a trend he continued until he ruined the team. Philly’s front office thought it would be best to max Harris instead of surrounding Ben with shooters
Just fire doc rivers already, and get this over with. Ya, Simmons is being a clown baby, but I dont get why they would be so married to Rivers, even regardless of this situation, which he caused
It’s because he has guarantee 5 yr contract(4 to go) at 10m+ per. :(
That’s not nearly as much as the amount Simmons is signed for, and coaches, especially bad ones that cost you the series AND potentially a top player, can easily be replaced, while players with the abilities, size, and versatility of Ben Simmons cant
Dude is overpaid and is horrible at shooting. Don’t want him on my squad!
I bet you’d love to have Alex Caruso tho lol
Get off race. Players that hold out rarely get cheered and with 4 years left on a guaranteed contract, Simmons could well get more grief. He does not deserve much rooting for; he does not communicate or have a championship, and big money already awaits.
Didnt the Pelicans do literally the reverse of this with AD? I cant fault Ben at the end of the day he doesn’t want to be there so why bother playing the roll. As long as he doesn’t complain about being fined for not showing up i have no issue with it.
Addition by subtraction
Looking forward to this finally being over and done with.
Intrigued to see where he ends up, but this horse has been beaten to death already.
From the same story…
“,,,Philadelphia probably has a playoff-caliber roster even without him on the court, which means the Sixers can afford to be relatively patient in finding a deal they like.”
“…but they remain focused on a return that won’t compromise their ability to contend for a title in 2022.”
Okay.
They can survive the regular season and make the playoffs without Simmons — they’re not a title-caliber team in the playoffs without him.
Blazers will make a trade for Simmons once the asking price comes back to earth (for a non shooter), but it wont be dame. It fits the need for both teams. People who dont watch Cj every game hes played dont appreciate how good he is. He is a elite scorer. Ranked top 3 mid range shooter, and excellent 3 point shooter (better stats in those categories than Dame). Phili would be dramatically a better scoring team with him.