NBPA executive director Michele Roberts is defending Ben Simmons against accusations that he might be claiming psychological issues as an excuse to avoid playing, writes Liz Roscher of Yahoo Sports. Simmons told his Sixers teammates and coach Doc Rivers on Friday that’s he’s not mentally ready to start playing for the team again. That prompted skeptics to question Simmons’ motives since he claimed a medical issue with back tightness earlier this week.
Roberts threw her support behind Simmons and blasted Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey for suggesting that it could take a long time to find an acceptable trade, possibly even the four years that Simmons has left on his contract.
“Really? Is it so hard to believe that Ben’s not mentally at a place to compete? Professional athletes — like the rest of us — have difficult periods in our lives that require time and energy to heal,” Roberts said. “We have and will continue to provide Ben with the support and resources he needs to work through this. Threatening the prospect of ‘another four years’ serves no one’s interests. Like Tobias (Harris), I say let’s respect Ben’s space and embrace him while allowing him the time to move forward. So, take a breath and count to 10: We are all too good to continue to play this perpetual game of chicken.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- Morey has called around the league in an effort to work out a trade for Simmons, but he hasn’t contacted the Nets to inquire about Kyrie Irving, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Friday on “NBA Countdown” (video link). Woj adds that Brooklyn GM Sean Marks has accepted calls about Irving, but he hasn’t reached out to other teams about the star guard, who is inactive because of vaccination issues.
- At a team meeting on Friday, Joel Embiid asked Simmons why he wants to be traded, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Simmons responded that he isn’t feeling like himself mentally and needs some time away from the team. Harris and other team leaders expressed support for Simmons, sources tell Charania.
- Soreness in his right knee is already an issue for Embiid, per Tim Bontemps and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Embiid was having trouble moving on Friday after a collision in the season opener, but he intends to continue playing if the pain doesn’t get worse. “I mean, after last game, that was a pretty good hit by the big fella, but we’ll see how it feels tomorrow, but I’m not planning on sitting,” he said. “I want to keep playing as long as there’s not any big damage on it.”
The team is turning themselves into the bad guys here the longer this thing stretches out. They obviously aren’t listening to any trade offers from other teams because they have to know that the value of Ben Simmons will only continue to drop the longer they refuse to work out a deal. Ben’s actions prove that there’s zero chance of him returning to the Sixers no matter what happens. If there was a team that offered a decent trade package before the start of the season, then Morey and company were complete fools for not taking it then. They won’t get anything close to what would be considered fair value for Simmons at this point, or even any point in the future.
I don’t know what you smoking but everybody seems to agree that Ben has not been acting like a professional so instead he choose to whine and cry and if they find out he’s making false claims of mental health so he can get traded he will be the most player in the league by far.
Everyone commenting on NBA blogs maybe … The Sixers competition in the East are just laughing their heads off.
Most countries go to war thinking that it will be over quickly and they will win. Do not see much different here as the are now in a spiteful struggle of wills that will negatively affect both parties involved.
If I was Rockets. I’d try and get Ben. Probably can get him for 80c on the dollar. Sixers can’t let this go on much longer. Sixers go nowhere without a Ben trade. So Morey is full of it.
Simmons obviously has enough money to live well for the rest of his life.
We could be seeing another Larry Sanders situation here. Making millions of dollars doesn’t mean a thing if you wake up every morning anxious and miserable.
That’s a scary comp for any team considering giving up assets for him.
actually he doesn’t. Before last year he was on his rookie deal making about less than 8mil a year then last year he made about 35. So in total he’s made about 57mil after taxes and agent fees he probably had 25-30mil, so he doesn’t have money in the bank like alot of other players.
Those are hella agent fees! In reality he’s probably paid his agent $5m or so, and that’s on the high side. Then there’s taxes, but he’s also already made half his salary this year (the second quarter was his as soon as he showed up). So yeah, he’s filthy rich the rest of his life, regardless of if he plays another game.
It’s taxes that take up the majority.
Millions seems like a lot to people in debt but once you get to that amount it’s not a lot.
If you have friends and family you want to help start businesses or give money too, it becomes even less.
He’s not just paying an agent, hopefully he has a CPA, a financial advisor and lawyer.
When I was struggling, 6 digits was a fortune to me.
Now that I’m making big money, 7 figures won’t even let me buy my family houses.
It’s all relative to where you came from and where you end up.
@cryptonerd “7 figures won’t even let me buy my family houses”
I think your issue is more your lifestyle.
BTW, I just made a ton from FTM.
8 mill a year is equivalent to making $100k for 80 years.
Uhh, you can pull 3 percent off of 25M and make 750k a year for the rest of your life.
Simmons ain’t playing hoops, instead he’s playing the SIXERS and the league.
It is a BS claim. He doesn’t want to play for the Sixers so hes dogging it. This isn’t in the category of Kevin Love. If they traded him hed be playing. You don’t need a PhD and black chaise to realize it’s a farce.
And he’s doing those that are actually dealing with mental illness a disservice and he should be fined for it.
How you gonna prove that, Mr Hot Take? You make that claim as the Sixers and Klutch will have you in front of an arbitrator so fast your head will spin, and you’ll lose and no NBA free agent will ever consider you as a destination again.
The truth is, his behavior is exactly consistent with clinical depression.
So demanding a trade all offseason is clinical depression and then refusing to come to facilities to practice until you realize you aren’t getting paid a dime is tell-tale clinical depression? It’s impossible to know for sure but there sure is a lot of immaturity mixed in there. Where’s your MD diagnosing clinical depression?
It’s like it’s his style, being depressed, except when explosive. It would not be hard to find ‘doctoral’ support in a trial.
Just swap Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons
Both need a change of scenery at this point. Their value is pretty low at this point given their personalities.
The Sixers should trade Ben Simmons to the Texans for Deshaun Watson.
That would be one of the more interesting trades in the history of pro sports.
watson and wall for hurts and simmons and some picks some where.
Bwaaaaaaa bwaaaaaaa bwaaaaaaa
I believe Philly requires full vaccination and Irving won’t play because of it. I still think Wall and Simmons trade would be a consideration at this point. If not Houston, Portland is the other option and their offering price would be significantly lower than originally. It would come down to salary for salary trade if Houston, Portland, or any other team offers anything. Heck, Clippers and Warriors could now factor into the Simmons sweepstakes as well with his stock falling. I doubt this rides out for another 4 years. Morey tried this in Houston with Harden. At this time ownership in Philly should intervene and put Morey’s ego into check. But then again, he’ll probably want out of Philly if he can’t do things his own way.
A three-team (or more) trade will probably be the best course for the Sixers, especially if John Wall is involved with his $44M salary.
Maybe Wall would go to Philly, Simmons would go to a 3rd team, then that team would send the required salaries to Houston. Plus whatever draft picks/players are needed to complete the trade.
Doesn’t work. Philly would have to send out more. A significant player.
For salary matching yes. For quality of play, Simmons is more valuable at this point than Wall.
Stop comparing harden and Simmons friend the difference is staggering.
Right, and Daryl Morey believes he is owed the same package for Simmons as what Harden brought back. Keep in mind, he’s the delusional one, not some guy one a message board.
Because Simmons is a more valuable asset? Or was. He’s almost 10 years younger.
I guess you’re rounding to the nearest ten because Simmons is seven years younger than Harden, not almost ten. In terms of quality of play for the money, Harden is on a higher tier.
McCollum and a 3 month supply of Big Gulps — Morey should take that deal.
Morey might have to send back a few cheesesteaks.
As far as I know, Philly doesn’t have the same vaccination requirements as NYC at this point. The problem may be in the reverse direction since it’s not clear that Ben is vaccinated. However, I think he would if he desperately needs a change of scenery. If he’s not vaccinated, I think his commitment to the cause is not as strong as Kyrie’s. It’s not an exact match with cap hits this year but I think it could be worked out if the teams wanted to do that.
Being mentally ready to play and having mental issues are two completely different issues. This broad needs to keep out of sixer business as it’s none of hers. Ben had all summer to get his mind right and his shot.
I wonder how often Michele Roberts has been referred to as a broad, such an antiquated expression (not to mention offensive). It actually is her business.
( Broad ) street went right over your biased head my anti sixer friend.
Ben Simmons took some shots but couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
As a Sixers fan im 100% behind Morey because if you don’t get even close to equal value for Simmons then its not worth it for the franchise. With the way the team is structured whatever they get back in this package will determine the next 4-5yrs of this franchise. So far the best offer i heard any team offer was Brogdon and 1st, Hell no to that. He’s not being for .25 on the dollar and thats good for nobody. Come back play ball and then get traded by deadline or in the offseason.
He won’t and has no incentive to. You seem like the sort who will stick to betting with king high because you can’t stand being wrong, and end up losing your whole stack. Live to fight another day. Sixers will get crushed by this if they don’t. Look for Ben to do his Oprah interview shortly …
Maxey will thrive at PG for Philly as he’s a decent shooter, passer and very good defender. Is he a Ben Simmons level defender? No but to play great D you have to be engaged which Simmons isn’t and D is the only thing Ben brings to the table. So here’s the question. What do the Sixers need to get for Ben? They’ve got Maxey at the 1, Curry at the 2, Green at the 3, Harris at the 4 and Embiid at the 5. I’d say a SF as Danny Green isn’t no spring chicken. Perhaps Gallinari and Hunter for Simmons?
#FreeBenSimmons
People just gonna keep saying that hoping for the ‘likes’.
People loove the ‘likes’.
#ImWithBen
Sixers a contender for next 5 yrs. Probably win two rings………
Bagley will find his game next to Embiid. He and Harris make a great combo next to Embiid. Plus Bagley can play C in small ball lineup.
Buddy gives them scoring and shooting. He can start or come off bench. These two are young vets who would love to be in games that mean something. Haliburton can be an all star on Sixers. He’s a great 2way player. He could be top 3 in ast on Sixers. That’s an Embiid best friend, here. Morey wake up. These three are more better than Ben. Wake Up !!!!
Bagley, Buddy, Haliburton, #1 pick to Sixers
Ben, Maxey, and their agent to Kings.
you’re assuming that offer is on the table