Philadelphia 76ers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eagles Center Has Advice For Simmons

October 21st, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks guard Evan Fournier made an impressive debut against his former team, posting 32 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists in a double OT victory over the Celtics on Wednesday. Fournier struggled with his shooting in preseason games, but coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t fazed, according to Zach Brazilier of the New York Post. “I was never worried about him making shots,” he said. “To me, he has proven throughout his career that that is who he is.” Fournier was acquired in a sign-and-trade with his four-year contract worth up to 78MM.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Julius Randle‘s first game after signing a four-year, $117MM extension showed that he’s not resting on his laurels, Ian O’Connor of the New York Post writes. The Knicks forward racked up 35 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. “Julius had that monster year, got a new contract and all that and he’s hungrier now than last year, which I thought was impossible,” Thibodeau said. “He comes in every night like clockwork. You know he’s going to be in there.” Randle was fined $15K by the league for throwing the ball in the stands at the end of the team’s opening-night win, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press tweets.
Chinese video-streaming giant Tencent won’t show Celtics games in the foreseeable future after comments made by center Enes Kanter, according to Eva Dou and Lyric Li of the Washington Post. Kanter posted a video voicing his support for Tibetan independence. In response, Tencent cut the live broadcast of Wednesday’s game between the Celtics and the Knicks. Sixers president and former Houston GM Daryl Morey created a firestorm between the Chinese government and the NBA with his public support in 2019 of Hong Kong pro-democracy protestors.
The Ben Simmons saga with the Sixers even has NFL players in Philadelphia voicing their opinions. Eagles center Jason Kelce said Simmons needs to own up to his shortcomings, ESPN’s Tim McManus writes. “I don’t want to crush any other players, but what’s going on with the 76ers, Ben Simmons, stuff like that, all of that is because of a lack of accountability, a lack of owning up to mistakes and a lack of correcting things,” Kelce said. “If all that got corrected, if you’re fixing free throws, if you’re getting better as a player, none of this is happening. So everybody can b—h and complain about how tough this city is to play in. Just play better, man. This city will love you.”

Sixers’ Morey: Simmons Trade Could Take A While

October 21st, 2021 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing today on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey made it clear he’s in no rush to trade Ben Simmons for less than what the Sixers believe he’s worth.

“People should buckle in, this is going to go a long time,” Morey said, according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com (Twitter link).

Morey added that if the Sixers can trade Simmons for a “difference-maker,” they’ll do it, but confirmed the club has no interest in moving the three-time All-Star for role players. In Morey’s view, Philadelphia’s best chance to win a championship would be by either getting Simmons back on the court or waiting until an impact player hits the trade block.

“I would ask the question to Sixers fans: would you rather eliminate a distraction or have lower playoff odds?” Morey said, per Neubeck and Rich Hofmann of The Athletic (Twitter links). “I’m willing to go through mud, muck, barbed wire…we’ll go through whatever it takes…what we’re doing right now gives us the best chance to win the title.”

The standoff between Simmons and the Sixers has seemingly grown more uncomfortable this week. The 25-year-old reported to the team, but has resisted engaging physically or mentally in practices and was suspended for the season opener for conduct detrimental to the team. Reports today indicated that he will meet with team leadership on Friday to discuss his playing status after skipping a scheduled individual workout on Thursday.

While Simmons seems to have little interest in suiting up again for the 76ers after demanding a trade in the offseason, Morey’s comments on 97.5 The Fanatic today suggest the club won’t be pressured into making a deal sooner rather than later.

“You’re going to think I’m kidding, I’m not. This could take four years,” Morey said (Twitter link via Neubeck). “… We’re in the prime of Joel (Embiid)’s career…this is not a day-to-day (issue). Every day, we are going to expect Ben Simmons to be back here, or we trade him for a difference-maker.”

Multiple reports today indicated that Simmons complained of back stiffness and received minor treatment before being cleared by the team’s medical staff. That back tightness hadn’t been treated or mentioned as an issue before today, a source tells Neubeck.

If he has a legitimate injury, that would be a reason for Simmons to miss practices and games while still being paid. However, it sounds like the team doesn’t view Simmons’ back tightness as a serious issue. Multiple sources who spoke to PhillyVoice about Simmons’ suspension earlier this week were prepared for him to use a health-related explanation to avoid playing in Friday’s game, Neubeck says.

Ben Simmons Skips Individual Workout, Won’t Play Friday

October 21st, 2021 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

3:25pm: Simmons is expected to come early to the 76ers’ shootaround on Friday to meet with team leadership to discuss his playing status, reports Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

2:08pm: Simmons told Sixers staff members he was experiencing back tightness on Thursday and briefly received treatment for it, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Being diagnosed with a legitimate injury would be one way for Simmons to avoid participating in practices and games while still being paid. However, the team’s medical staff cleared Simmons to participate in his scheduled workout today after he received treatment on his back, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Charania (Twitter link), Simmons won’t be available for Friday’s game and isn’t expected to play for an “undetermined amount of time.”

1:39pm: After being suspended for the Sixers‘ regular season opener on Wednesday, Ben Simmons showed up at the team’s practice facility on Thursday, but left without taking part in his scheduled individual workout, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

Simmons’ status for Friday’s game in Philadelphia vs. the Nets remains up in the air, but it seems unlikely that he’ll play in the 76ers’ home opener since he has yet to fully engage in a team practice, says Wojnarowski.

Simmons, who has pushed for a trade for months, ended his holdout and reported to the Sixers 10 days ago, then resumed practicing with the team over the weekend. However, he has reportedly not been physically or mentally engaged in those practices. On Tuesday, head coach Doc Rivers threw Simmons out of practice when the 25-year-old refused to sub in during a defensive drill. His one-game suspension was announced shortly thereafter.

Subsequent reporting from Shams Charania of The Athletic indicated that the Sixers don’t expect to find a trade they like for Simmons in the coming days, and want him to show up for – and engage in – practices and games. Sources tell Charania that the three-time All-Star isn’t against the idea of playing again for Philadelphia as he awaits a trade, but isn’t mentally prepared to do so yet.

The Sixers didn’t hold a practice today, but Simmons is scheduled to return to team activities on Friday, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. It’s unclear if the team would continue to suspend him if he remains disengaged.

As Windhorst details, the rest of the Sixers were able to escape the Simmons drama for a few hours on Tuesday night when they gathered for a team dinner in New Orleans in an effort to clear the air.

“It’s good to just go out and kinda not talk about basketball and talk about life,” Joel Embiid said. “That’s also an evolution for me, because I usually, when I used to go on the road, I’d just like to stay in my room and be on the phone and play video games.”

The 76ers followed up that dinner with an impressive road victory on Wednesday over the Pelicans. They’ll face a stiffer challenge on Friday against Brooklyn.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Sixers, Brown, Richardson, Walker

October 20th, 2021 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The ongoing Ben Simmons drama, including a suspension, has sucked some of the energy out of the Sixers’ opener, coach Doc Rivers admitted to Brian Windhorst of ESPN and other media members. Simmons was suspended for the opener after refusing to participate in a practice drill.

“It’s a predicament that we’re in and that part is no fun. It really isn’t,” Rivers said. “We get to play right now and Ben is not. I want Ben to be playing. That’s his job.”

Simmons will be fined $330K for missing Wednesday’s game, increasing his fines for missed games — including the preseason — to more than $1.7MM.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, who had been sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test, will be in the starting lineup against the Knicks tonight, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Brown said he experienced “some mild symptoms for the most part” and used meditation to recover from the virus. He’ll have an inhaler at the ready if he has any breathing issues. Al Horford, who also recently contracted COVID-19, remains sidelined to start the season, though head coach Ime Udoka said the veteran center is doing well physically.
Celtics guard Josh Richardson will not play in the opener due to a migraine, the team’s PR department tweets. Richardson was acquired in a trade with Dallas in late July.
New York native Kemba Walker is thrilled to be playing for his hometown team at last, Bontemps writes in a separate story. He’s hoping to prove the knee issues that plagued him with Boston won’t be a major factor with the Knicks. “Perfect timing. [I’m] really motivated,” he said. “Super excited that these guys have belief in me. I just need somebody to believe in me.”

Atlantic Notes: Bonga, Simmons, Harden, Tatum

October 19th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

German-born wing Isaac Bonga was able to make the Raptors’ opening roster thanks in part to help from two of the best coaches Canada has to offer, in current German national team head coach Gordie Herbert and assistant coach Roy Rana, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.

“Their development and what they do up here, we all know,” the 21-year-old said in discussing the appeal of joining the Raptors on a non-guaranteed deal during the 2021 offseason. “Obviously in the past, people can see what they did with people like Pascal [Siakam], Chris [Boucher], OG [Anunoby].”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Though he still wants to be dealt, Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons has at least been physically present for practice in recent days and isn’t against playing for the team until a trade can be worked out, says Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, Simmons remains disengaged and isn’t “mentally ready” to get back to normal, sources tell The Athletic. Charania details the events of a tense practice that ultimately led to the 25-year-old’s one-game suspension today.
Nets All-Star guard James Harden didn’t come to terms on an extension agreement with Brooklyn before the October 18 deadline. Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Nets tendered Harden a $161MM extension offer. After successfully signing All-Star forward Kevin Durant to a lucrative contract extension earlier this summer, Nets team president Sean Marks expressed confidence he would be able to ink both Harden and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to extensions before the season. Neither player has been locked up long-term, and both could opt out of their deals to become free agents in the summer of 2022. Lewis notes that Harden will be eligible for a four-year, $223MM extension next summer. “I love it here, I feel at home,” Harden said of his future with the club, per Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN (Twitter link). “For me individually, I just want to focus on this year… I don’t plan on leaving this organization.”
Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum hopes to become an undeniable two-way force this season, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “The next step is … just dominating,” Tatum said. “Not going out there and being just the best player — like dominating the game. So people walk away from the game and be like there’s nothing they could do, on both ends.”

Sixers Suspend Ben Simmons For Season Opener

October 19th, 2021 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

1:22pm: The Sixers have fined Simmons about $1.4MM for missing the team’s four preseason games and have also fined him for the various practices, workouts, and meetings he missed, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who says the 25-year-old hasn’t earned any money since he returned last week.

Wojnarowski adds that Philadelphia hasn’t changed its stance about not wanting to trade Simmons for role players. Even after today’s incident, no one should expect a quick resolution, says Woj.

11:13am: The Sixers have suspended Ben Simmons for one game due to conduct detrimental to the team, the club announced today in a press release. As a result, Simmons will miss Philadelphia’s regular season opener in New Orleans on Wednesday night.

The 76ers’ announcement was light on details, but according to reports from Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), the team handed out the suspension after Simmons was kicked out of Tuesday’s practice by head coach Doc Rivers for not being engaged. He was thrown out early in the practice when he essentially refused to participate in the next session, Woj adds (via Twitter).

“He was a distraction today,” Rivers said of Simmons, per Serena Winters (Twitter link). “I didn’t think he wanted to do what everybody else was doing. It was early, it wasn’t a big deal. I just told him, he should leave then, and we went on with practice.”

The plan had been for the 25-year-old to speak to reporters for the first time following today’s practice, but that won’t happen now, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.

Simmons, who sought a trade this offseason, was a holdout this fall and missed the first two weeks of training camp and the preseason before reporting to the Sixers last Monday. He was cleared to join the team for practices on Friday, but we still don’t know with any certainty if or when he’ll play in games. The belief is that he reported to the 76ers in order to stop losing money for missing practices and games, not because his desire to be traded has wavered in the slightest.

Tuesday’s incident certainly doesn’t bode well for the odds of the three-time All-Star suiting up anytime soon. Sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that Simmons’ reluctance to “physically and mentally engage” has been a consistent theme since he resumed practicing with the club.

Joel Embiid told reporters today that he hasn’t spoken to Simmons since he returned, according to Neubeck (Twitter links).

“At the end of the day, our job is not to babysit somebody,” Embiid said. “… I’d be willing to babysit if someone wants to listen, but that’s not my my job.”

Cap/Contract Notes: Taxpayers, Allen, Carter, Shamet, Gafford

October 19th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Now that all 30 regular season rosters have been set, 10 teams project to be taxpayers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Warriors, Nets, Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, Jazz, Sixers, Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Raptors are currently over the luxury tax threshold.

Some of those teams are in better shape than others. While the Warriors ($159.9MM) and Nets ($110.4MM) project to have nine-figure tax bills, the Raptors are barely into tax territory and should be able to sneak below the line, perhaps by waiving one of their two players who have partially guaranteed deals.

Besides Golden State and Brooklyn, the Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Jazz all have projected tax bills exceeding $33MM, according to Marks. The Sixers, Celtics, Blazers, and Raptors would owe less than $8MM each based on the current numbers.

Of course, these numbers can and will change over the course of the season as teams make roster moves, since tax bills are determined by the team’s year-end salary. For now though, the 20 non-taxpayers project to receive year-end payments of $12.7MM, Marks notes.

Here are a few more cap- and contract-related notes from around the NBA:

Grayson Allen‘s two-year extension with the Bucks features a base value of $17MM ($8.5MM per year) in guaranteed money, plus incentives, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The exact value of the incentives is $1.275MM annually, Hoops Rumors has learned. Currently, those are a mix of likely and unlikely bonuses, but since the deal doesn’t begin until 2022/23, those likely/unlikely designations will ultimately be based on what happens this coming season.
Wendell Carter Jr.‘s four-year extension with the Magic has a descending structure, Scotto tweets. It starts at $14.15MM in year one and dips to $10.85MM by year four. The deal is fully guaranteed, with no options.
In addition to having a team option on its fourth year, Landry Shamet‘s extension with the Suns has a non-guaranteed salary in year three, Hoops Rumors has learned. The last two years both have June 29 trigger dates, in 2024 and 2025. Only $19.75MM of Shamet’s $42.5MM deal is fully guaranteed for now.
Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension with the Wizards doesn’t include any options or incentives, tweets John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Simmons Expected To Address Media

October 18th, 2021 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ben Simmons is expected to address the media Tuesday before the Sixers leave for New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Wednesday, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. It’s uncertain whether Simmons will suit up for the opener.

Sixers Notes: Milton, Offseason, Contention, Simmons

October 17th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Sixers reserve guard Shake Milton continues to struggle with a sprained ankle. Head coach Doc Rivers said today that Milton was “nowhere near” being ready to rejoin his teammates in Philadelphia’s season-opening contest on Wednesday against the Pelicans, tweets Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. Rivers added that he expects Milton to be unavailable “for a while.”

The 6’5″ Milton, selected with the No. 54 pick in the 2018 draft, enjoyed a breakout year with the Sixers during the 2020/21 season, averaging career highs of 13.0 PPG, 3.1 APG and 2.3 in 63 games.

There’s more out of the City of Brotherly Love:

After a tumultuous offseason that saw an extended holdout from All-Star Ben Simmons, the Sixers have their work cut out for them to remain a contender in the East. John Hollinger of The Athletic supplies a fresh recap for Philadelphia’s offseason moves and examines the club’s cap situation in a new season preview. Hollinger offers high marks for the club’s value free agency signings, especially applauding the addition of reserve power forward Georges Niang and the re-signings of wings Danny Green and Furkan Korkmaz to team-friendly deals.
The Sixers are optimistic they can compete for a title, even with the situation surrounding disgruntled star Ben Simmons still unsettled, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “If you don’t have great expectations, you are not going to have great success,” head coach Doc Rivers observed. “We have to be able to handle the expectations that we create.”
After successfully clearing team health and safety protocols, embattled Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons has resumed practicing with Philadelphia as a full participant, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Head coach Doc Rivers said he intends to treat Simmons as if he will playing with the club going forward. “Well we have to,” Rivers said. “As a coach, I’m literally in a tough spot, right? But we literally have to.” According to an ESPN report, it remains uncertain when Simmons will play actual games for the Sixers. “When he’s ready, he’ll play,” Rivers said.

Nets Notes: Griffin, Aldridge, Two-Way Slot, Harden, Irving, Thomas

October 17th, 2021 at 9:31am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets are likely to move away from their approach of spreading the court and could field one of the tallest rotations in the league, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. That decision was forced partially by the uncertainty surrounding Kyrie Irving, but Brooklyn focused heavily on the frontcourt in its offseason moves, re-signing Blake Griffin and adding veteran big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap.

Griffin played alongside center Nicolas Claxton with the first unit in Saturday’s practice, Winfield notes, but he frequently started at center after joining the team last season and can be effective at either position. Millsap and Aldridge have spent most of their careers as power forwards, but they will also see time in the middle.

“It’s not a traditional big lineup. Blake can switch a lot. I can switch at times. (Kevin Durant) can do it all,” Aldridge said. “I think it’s a big lineup, but it’s not traditional. You’re going to need that. I think teams can play big and play small, and I think having the ability to do both is nice for us.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

The Nets’ decision to give David Duke Jr. their final two-way spot and waive Devontae Cacok was based on their philosophy related to two-way deals, Winfield adds. “I think it’s more development at this point,” coach Steve Nash said. “I think when you look at a team like this, it’s hard for those guys fighting for two-way spots to be guys that are playing in the rotation. So it’s not impossible, but it’s more of a development spot, someone that we can groom and help grow into a piece of this organization’s future.”
The Nets were determined to trade for James Harden last season because they already had doubts about whether they could trust Irving, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on his podcast (hat tip to RealGM). Woj added that Brooklyn and Philadelphia haven’t discussed a trade involving Irving and Ben Simmons, and he doesn’t believe the Sixers would have any interest in such a deal. He also said the Nets are preparing to play the entire season without Irving.
Cameron Thomas put together a strong preseason after being named co-MVP of the Summer League, but he’s still not likely to have a spot in the Nets’ rotation, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Brooklyn has an experienced backcourt after the offseason additions of Patty Mills and Jevon Carter, and there may not be many minutes available for the rookie guard. “I think there’s some ground for him to make up, but we love him as a player and think he’s got a bright future, but it might take some time,” Nash said. “He’s joined a pretty tough team to crack into.”

Sixers Rumors