The structure of Ben Simmons‘ contract may embolden him in his plans to hold out from the Sixers, Marc Stein of Substack writes in his latest newsletter. As Stein explains, Simmons received 25% of his 2021/22 salary on August 1 and will receive another 25% on October 1, meaning he’ll already have earned half of his $33MM salary for the season by the time the preseason starts.
[RELATED: Ben Simmons Adamant About Not Attending Camp, Not Playing For Sixers]
League rules permit the Sixers to assess substantial fines for each game he misses during his holdout (approximately $228K per game), but Stein suggests those fines won’t be docked from Simmons’ pay until November, after the first pay period of the regular season. If Simmons was on a more traditional payment schedule, those fines would be more costly, but it will take a while for them to put a dent into the $16.5MM he’ll already have earned this season.
Here’s more from Stein:
- Don’t expect the Sixers and Simmons to follow the blueprint that Al Horford and the Thunder or John Wall and the Rockets have, according to Stein. While those rebuilding teams were comfortable holding out their veteran players until they found a suitable trade partner, the 76ers continue to try to convince Simmons to report to training camp and have “zero interest” in reaching a mutual agreement to allow the three-time All-Star to remain away from the team, says Stein.
- According to Stein, many of the teams that have engaged the Sixers in Simmons trade talks – including the Timberwolves, Raptors, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Kings – typically aren’t major players in free agency, and like the idea of securing a young impact player who is under contract for four years. However, most of those teams don’t have stars that would interest Philadelphia, or have made them unavailable in trade negotiations (such as the Wolves with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, or the Kings with De’Aaron Fox).
- The NBPA has enlisted Chicago-based search firm Heidrick & Struggles to help seek out a new executive director to replace Michele Roberts, according to Stein, who says that “well-placed observers” believe Roberts’ replacement could be an unexpected selection who hasn’t yet been publicly identified.
- Stein, who previously named Malik Rose as a candidate to become the NBPA’s executive director, suggests Noah Croom, Arne Duncan, Nichole Francis Reynolds, Pat Garrity, and Mark Termini are other viable contenders for the job. Croom and Garrity are veteran team executives, Termini is a longtime player agent, and Duncan and Reynolds work outside of the NBA in education/politics and business, respectively.
If Ben is dealt to any of those 5 teams named in the article, he would be the face (and best player) of each franchise with the exception of Minn w/KAT. Also, as was eluded to, none of those teams typically attract high end free agents. Philly still has a chance to get relatively close to their asking price. No need to sell for pennies on the dollar.
I actually think if he gets a shot (like a literal shot, not a chance) he would be the best player on the Wolves also.
@philliefan
Defense is important but there’s absolutely no way he’d be more valuable than KAT. A true big coming off a 25/10/5 season on 49/39/86 slash? Please….put him in a bigger market and he would be considered one of the top 5 players in the league.
Starting your arguement with defense is important and ending it with he’d be a top 5 player in the NBA is a hilarious joke when talking about Towns
@philliesfan215
the nba has shown that while they value defense they are usually regretful of spending big money on it. Simmons is great defensively and a great passer but at $30 million that’s too much
At this point they’re not getting anything close to their asking price. If they had dealt him much sooner then maybe they could have, but now all teams have to do is wait until the Sixers become increasingly desperate and someone is going to get Simmons for pennies on the dollar. Just watch.
I could see them having to settle for trading Simmons and Thybulle for Wall plus one or two lottery-protected first round picks. They won’t do better.
That is about the worst trade they could make (Wall is done and the Rockets picks are going to be in the lottery for a while). It would be much better to just keep Thybulle and sit Simmons the whole year.
That Wall proposal is absurd.
Simmons and thybulle for nothing? Yea ok. Simmons alone and that offer is trash, but you also want an all nba defender on a rookie contract too? Come on guy, I know you are Houston through and through, but that offer isn’t even in the stratosphere of reality. The Sixers wouldn’t do that offer for thybulle alone either. Of course, the second Simmons lands on Houston you would surely change your tune about his abilities
Robohouston is deluded… Wall and picks… “Just watch”… him be generally wrong.
You obviously are working with little knowledge of how morey works or why the Sixers are paying him north of 7 figures. Your proposal is ludicrous on its face and ridiculous in its nature my friend. Go back to the NBA trade machine. L
Nobody wants wall….stop thinking he has any value.
Your crazy fox is better
Ben wouldn’t even be the 4th best player on the Raptors. What are you talking abou, face of the franchise??
Halliburton is better for Sixers than Ben at his best…….. Morey , I’m saving your soul lol.
Halliburton, Buddy, Bagley, #1 pick.
They will all thrive in Philly in East race. Move Maxey with him NOW. Stop The Madness.
I’m so tired of hearing about Suxers and Ben. Seems Philly is only ones who weren’t ready for this. Why are you in this Sport.
Ben and Maxey >>>>> BYE bye
Sixers are real contenders with these three.
Embiid (C), Harris (SF), Bagley (PF),
Halliburton (PG), Green (SG).
Now they got plenty bench scoring. Plenty of D. They are a true Contender.
Harris should not be playing the 3. They tried that experiment when they had horford and it was a disaster. He is much more comfortable at the 4. No need to play him out of position to accommodate a player who has proven zero in the league. Everything else, I’m on board with. I think the kings said Halliburton is untouchable though, which is just mind boggling
Not sure how many pieces have to be written saying the Kings will absolutely NOT trade Ty or Fox before you all start to get it
Fox is on the block until Simmons is gone. The new GM picked PGs high last two drafts, and they have not won with Fox.
While it appears that way, I think Sacramento can’t deal fox. He is a “star” player that actually wants to be there. Trading him would be a bad look. If he didn’t come out and say that, I would think this trade would be done by now
@x%sure
The Blazers haven’t won with Lillard. And why don’t ppl think the same reason Simmons faltered in the playoffs won’t happen elsewhere? Will trading him to a team WITHOUT a “Embiid” reallllly fare better? Will he discover a magical elixir elsewhere that helps him expand his shooting range beyond Shaqdome? Will he suddenly hit FTs? Will he suddenly overcome his fear of being fouled? Will his psychologist stop asking him “here’s a teddy… show us were the defender touched you”? I truly question the expectations of any team that acquires him unless they have the personnel to truly minimize his liabilities.
I was talking about Fox of SAC being available for Simmons.
I think your evaluation of Simmons is off because he has not been trying to win. Instead he is in the middle of forcing out so will not appear competitive.
Have you even watched Tobias play over the last 3 years…there is a good reason why his minutes at the 3 are minuscule, he is not a very good 3, while he is a competent 4. Hield is a bit redundant with Curry, 2 sharp shooters with no D although Curry is the more reluctant shooter. This is just another bad trade made even worse by poor fit.
I don’t see Curry as a starter at 2guard on an NBA championship team. Shooter/scorer off the bench? Absolutely.
This is what happens when you back the bus up over one of your star players for no good reason.
Or for many good reasons
If he’s so terrible then why not trade him for whatever you can get instead of holding out for a star in return then? Simmons is a talent. He’s a special player. Trashing him does nothing to help your return, though.
He refuses to practice shooting 3s…….
Highly doubt that. He also is far from the first NBA player that couldnt. Some dudes just never have touch on jumpers. The best potential solution I heard was having him shoot with his other hand since I think he is a righty shooting lefty, but it takes so long to develop the feel you need to shoot in the NBA at game speed. This is why Steph can hit was it 113 3PT in a row in practice but not nearly as good in game. Dude is just a bad shooter, doesnt mean he hasnt been trying to get better.
@Chapman
I agree as a whole, but let me counter with this:
Simmons’ outright REFUSAL to shoot is somewhat unprecedented – to my knowledge at least. So while I agree that not everyone is going to be a great shooter or even an above average shooter in the NBA, I think Simmons could at least become an average shooter.
Or even if not an average shooter, a slightly below average one. Like Draymond … not a great shooter. But he takes them. And even if he shoots 32% from 3 there are going to be nights he goes 5/8 from 3.
Whereas with Simmons you never even get the chance that he gets hot as a sub-optimal shooter because he flat out refuses to shoot the ball.
Yet he has 782 assisted 3’s since he entered the NBA…You guessed it, it is the most assisted 3’s since he entered the league…is the goal for the PG to make the most 3’s or to create the most 3’s?
This would be a great point if it were 1984. The game has changed. We are spearheading the era of positionless basketball. I mean the two best passers in the NBA are Bron and Jokic. Do you understand why he has the most assisted 3s? Do you grasp the math behind it? It’s because he doesn’t shoot the ball. Every other point in the NBA has the confidence to at least attempt a shot. An inability and refusal to shoot combined with little confidence in the paint is a pretty rough look. Nobody is debating whether or not Ben is a good ball player. His defense and vision are elite. Unfortunately, his skill set isn’t that of the 2nd best player on a championship team. Every other GM in the league knows this. Philly should have taken Brogdon while they had the chance
The Sixers haven’t said Big Ben is “terrible ” the mob has
Doc may as well have in his postgame press conference after the playoff loss. Joel also did the situation no favors with his comments. That sent a very clear message, and other teams are well aware. Philly tanked their leverage there.
Is this Ben issue also part of the process?
They can only fine 228K per game? So even if he holds out the whole season he keeps millions? That’s kinda crazy.
When the 145 day season starts at camp beginning they can start fining him 145th of his salary per day which equals 228K per day. NBA does salary weird and he gets fined daily for not reporting.
Oh that makes more sense. The article says it’s per game not per day.
It’s 1/145th of his salary per game up to 20 games, then 1/110th per game after that. Here’s the section from the CBA:
“When a player fails or refuses, without proper and reasonable cause or excuse, to render the services required by a Player Contract or this Agreement, or when a player is, for proper cause, suspended by his Team or the NBA in accordance with the terms of such Contract or this Agreement, the Current Base Compensation payable to the player for the year of the Contract during which such refusal or failure and/or suspension occurs may be reduced (or, in the case of a suspension, shall be reduced) by (a) 1/145th of the player’s Base Compensation for each missed Exhibition, Regular Season or Playoff game for any suspension of less than twenty (20) games and (b) 1/110th of the player’s Base Compensation for each missed Exhibition, Regular Season or Playoff game for any suspension of twenty (20) games or more (including any indefinite suspension that persists for twenty (20) games or more or consecutive suspensions for continuing acts or conduct that persist for twenty (20) games or more).”
No matter what team Ben ends up on, he needs to take a couple jumpers per game. Hell, miss all of them… but take them. Worry about making a couple next season. And really, if he’s that bad a shooter, some may just go in accidentally.
Just shoot a couple!
Just like Giannis and Marcus Smart. Neither is even an average shooter but they take them to keep the defense honest
Ben only needs to make FTs…….
FTs and play the wing. He shoots 75% or better FTs he can still dominate. There is no 3 or 4 that can handle Ben one on one. Just make your FTs bro. And forget trying to be the next Magic. Make some magic at the wing lol.
I would take Ben Simmons not Court, nothing to lose
Also I would fire the moron who wrote that contract
This just shows you how dysfunctional and out of touch the organization is when your over rated coach and arrogant/egotistical president throw u under the bus and expect to get a kings ransom in a trade BUT will only get pennies to the dollar. Hope Ben stays home until he is traded.
Does not have to shot another 3. All he has to do is improve on his free throw shooting and he would average close to a triple double and score over 20 points a game while being a top 10 defensive player in the league.
@rap4life
You really think their main gripe with Simmons is his inability to shoot a 3? I would dare to say that it’s his FT shooting. When your FT shooting is an abysmal 62% for the season then plummets to 34% in this year’s playoff run and haunts him soooo much that he becomes afraid to even handle the ball THAT Is what everybody is frustrated about. The fact he can’t shoot beyond 3ft from the basket simply hampers the offense. It’s a major problem that only HE can fix and im soooo tired of everyone placing blame elsewhere. If the Sixers just wanted a pg that can pass and defend then they could’ve just signed Rondo.
Rondo’s defense is not even comparable with Simmons’. But the one thing I find most surprising is everyone seems to obviate that Simmons is actually a good scorer. He may be useless beyond 8 feet, but can really post up and drive to the basket. His career average is 16 points a game, which is pretty decent. He just needs to make his FTs and try a few jumpers every night. Indeed, it’s up to him to improve these aspects, but the coaching staff could also do more: just make him try 300 free throws on every practice, or sit him during the last two quarters if he hasn’t tried a couple of jumpers up to that moment. I don’t know, something (anything!) to help/motivate/force him to improve.
@otogar
Will…ppl..stop…saying this? Im sure the team has done plenty to try and support the guy. They even, at his behest, hired Simmons brother, an assistant coach at UC, to be his personal shooting coach. Im surrrrre they’ve been willing to give him as much support as possible. It’s absurd to think they would invest $170 mil and NOT invest a smidgeon of that on coaching. It’s up to Ben and no one else to improve his FT shooting and fear of being fouled in the 4th quarter. And 17 pts is good but not for a $30 mil per year point guard/ forward.
Gobert isn’t even half of a quarter the player Ben is, but gets paid much more to score much less!
BTW Gobert can’t defend for his life, as all the good centers in the league show by having career games against him!
It’s kinda weird that Gobert averaged exactly the same amount of points per game as Simmons last season but yet did it at a more more efficient rate.
Gobert doesn’t defend the opposing center, he defends the entire opposing teams offense. When Simmons went off for 42 against Gobert Clarkson went off for 40 against “the best perimeter defender in the league” and in the end Utah won the game by a considerable margin.
Gobert actually works on his game and gets better year in and year out unlike Simmons.
You’re right though Gobert isn’t a quarter or half the player Simmons is. Gobert is twice the player Simmons is for 2 million a year more.
Reading comprehension would help you a lot, that’s for sure, I said Gobert isn’t an 1/8 of the player Simmons is!
Now if you have the audacity of thinking that Gobert is a better player… then… well… I am afraid no one can help you, right?
BTW as a matter of fact Gobert can’t defend even if his life depends on it, so your opinion he alone defends all opposing team is very funny, perhaps that is why UTA is hardly a playoff team at all, thanks to his bad defense!
Stop saying the Sixers threw Simmons under the bus.
At most they unveiled honest doubts.
I’d refrain from saying the Sixers threw Simmons under the bus.
At most they unveiled honest doubts.
Sixers should demand and compromise with Draymond+ package in return. Draymond will lead them to promise land. Sixers will need to add a year to his contract to lull him to Philly. Green, of course, wants to stay in SF and team up with Simmons, but he will get a chance to win without Curry in Philly. Win win win for everybody!
Dubs would rather have Draymond. They’ve even said that semi-publicly. All Ben has on him is age, and right now the Dubs don’t care about that.
Simmons got the yips, and a lot of teams probably wanna see him play before they trade the farm for him. Nobody is going to give up the future of their team for a guy that might be mentally unable to even attempt to shoot the ball, so his best chance is to report to philly and prove he can play and the playoffs were the exception,not the rule.
That NBPA rep list doesn’t include the guy actually hired….