- Sixers swingman Matisse Thybulle has a sore right shoulder and will be out at least a week, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. He’ll undergo rehab for the injury and be reevaluated sometime next week. Thybulle was named to the All-Defensive Second Team last season.
Former Sixers star Allen Iverson would be interested in working for an NBA team, he said during a conversation with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report (video link; hat tip to RealGM). Iverson told Rooks that he’s “forgotten more basketball than some people know” and would love to put his expertise to use by helping current NBA players — especially if he could so in Philadelphia with his old team.
“I’m a Sixer for life. I’ve got Sixer blood pumping through me. Everybody knows that I want to help that organization,” Iverson said. “I’ve been retired, what, 11 years? I don’t know how I’m not a part of that staff (in) some kind of way.”
Iverson added that he’s not necessarily interested in being “the guy that’s right up front” (ie. a head coach) and that even just being a consultant for the Sixers would make him happy.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Addressing reports that the Sixers and Pacers have discussed a potential Ben Simmons trade, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer says that if the 76ers can get Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, and a future first-round pick in exchange for Simmons, they should pull the trigger. Philadelphia and Indiana have reportedly discussed both Brogdon and LeVert, though it’s unclear if either club has made an offer along those lines.
- Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe is battling a left calf strain and won’t be available for Thursday’s game in Philadelphia, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets, the injury is considered minor, so hopefully it won’t affect Watanabe’s standing as he fights for a spot on Toronto’s 15-man regular season roster.
- While Scottie Barnes is drawing far more interest, the Raptors‘ “other” rookies – Dalano Banton and Justin Champagnie – are also vying for playing time, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca details. Given the team’s roster turnover and injury issues, there are opportunities in the rotation available for the taking, Grange writes for Sportsnet.ca.
- Al Horford‘s return to Boston reunites him with Robert Williams, who considered Horford a veteran role model during his previous stint with the Celtics. Jared Weiss of The Athletic spoke to the two big men about their relationship during Williams’ rookie year in 2018/19 and how they can help one another going forward.
- Sixers second-year guard Isaiah Joe is angling for playing time and he’s gotten off to a good start in the preseason, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. He had 18 points — including four 3-pointers — three rebounds and three steals against the Raptors. “We’ve got to get him on the floor more is what I keep telling our coaches,” coach Doc Rivers said, “because those 10 guys [in the rotation] are playing so much. … I told [Joe], I don’t care what unit you’re on, just keep going back and forth.”
Recent reports have indicated that Sixers star Ben Simmons and his representatives fully understand the financial ramifications of the 25-year-old’s holdout and are prepared to ride it out, but Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com hears that those financial ramifications are starting to hit home for Simmons’ camp.
According to Neubeck, after Simmons was fined approximately $360K for missing Philadelphia’s first preseason game on Monday, his reps had another conversation with the players’ union. Sources tell PhillyVoice.com that it was reiterated during that discussion that Simmons wouldn’t be able to recoup the money he loses in fines.
As Neubeck writes, Simmons would have the ability to attempt to recoup his lost salary through the arbitration process, but the general belief is that he’d be unsuccessful going that route. The only real path to getting that money back would be reaching a settlement with the 76ers, but the team will have little incentive to negotiate such a deal.
Here’s more on Simmons and the Sixers:
- A source tells Neubeck that Simmons’ camp believes the development of the former No. 1 pick has been evaluated on an “accelerated timeline,” since he missed his rookie season and then was expected to be a key part of a contending team almost instantly. Most other top picks join bad teams and don’t face such intense scrutiny early in their careers, Simmons’ camp has contended. While some members of the Sixers are sympathetic to that argument, they believe it “went out the window” after he signed a maximum-salary contract, writes Neubeck.
- In addition to discussing Caris LeVert, the Sixers have also inquired about Malcolm Brogdon in their trade conversations with the Pacers, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. Brogdon’s name surfaced in Simmons-related rumors early in the offseason as well.
- Grant Riller, who is on a two-way contract with the 76ers, suffered a torn left meniscus on Monday, a team official said today (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of The Athletic). Riller is undergoing surgery and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
- Rich Hofmann of The Athletic examines the Sixers’ game plan without Simmons, particularly on defense, where last season’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up will be missed most. “It’s a collective thing,” swingman Danny Green said. “We’re not going to leave each assignment that Ben has taken on to one person. We’re going to do it as a group.”
The Sixers played their first game of the 2021 preseason on Monday, and – as expected – Ben Simmons wasn’t in the building. The three-time All-Star continues his holdout, having not reported to the team for the 2021/22 season.
The 76ers already withheld an $8.25MM advance payment for Simmons for failing to uphold the terms of his contract, placing that money in an escrow account. According to Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks of ESPN, the team now intends to fine the 25-year-old for each preseason and regular season game he misses.
Those fines – which will come out of the escrow account for the time being – will be worth 1/91.6th of Simmons’ salary for 2021/22, per Bontemps and Marks. That means Simmons will lose about $360K of his $33MM salary for each game he misses, starting with Monday’s contest.
Those penalties will add up quickly. If Simmons sits out the preseason and extends his holdout into the regular season, he’ll have missed 10 games by the end of October — the equivalent of $3.6MM in lost salary.
That fine money won’t be easy for Simmons to recoup. If he’s eventually traded, his new team can’t agree to pay him the lost money, according to ESPN’s duo. That contradicts a weekend report which suggested that Simmons’ new team might be able to waive his fines. Bontemps and Marks says the only path for Simmons to get his fine money back would be by reaching a settlement with the 76ers, and point out that Philadelphia has little incentive to negotiate such a settlement.
Here’s more on Simmons:
- Ian Begley of SNY.tv, confirming that the Sixers and Pacers have talked about the possibility of a Simmons trade, reports that Caris LeVert was among the players discussed in those negotiations. However, Begley cautions that it’s unclear whether talks between the two teams progressed beyond exploratory conversations.
- Begley also says the Kings are among the clubs still eyeing Simmons, adding them to the list of six teams with ongoing interest reported over the weekend.
- According to Begley, members of several organizations around the NBA have privately stated they hope the Sixers don’t trade Simmons, since it would set a bad precedent to relent to a player’s demands when he still has four years left on his contract. Chris Mannix of SI.com spoke to one Eastern Conference executive who expressed that view plainly. “F–k that,” the executive said. “You let a guy force his way out with four years left on a max contract and you set a terrible precedent. They can’t cave.”
- Simmons has put one of his residences in the Philadelphia area up for sale and may put the other one on the market as well, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. While monitoring a player’s real estate holdings typically isn’t a reliable way to suss out his future plans, it’s probably safe to assume there’s a correlation in this case.
- Sixers wing Furkan Korkmaz has parted ways with Excel Sports, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. He’ll pick a new agent soon, Carchia adds. Korkmaz re-signed with Philadelphia on a three-year, $15MM deal this summer.
- Speaking of the Raptors, big man Chris Boucher recently sustained a dislocated finger, the team announced. Boucher will miss the club’s first preseason game against the Sixers on Monday. He’s coming off the best season of his four-year career, averaging 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per contest.
- Sixers rookie Charles Bassey won’t travel with the team for its game against Toronto, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Bassey signed a contract last week with the organization but still needs to finalize his work visa, Mizell notes.
- The Cavaliers will be interested in acquiring disgruntled Sixers star Ben Simmons for as long as he’s available, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets. Cleveland could theoretically offload one of Collin Sexton or Darius Garland in any deal, combining that player with Kevin Love‘s contract to match salaries. The club could also try to entice a third team to join any proposal.
- Sixers head coach Doc Rivers helped recruit Andre Drummond and Georges Niang to the team in free agency, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Both Drummond and Niang are expected to provide depth in the frontcourt as bench players this season. “That was the swinger in me wanting to be here,” Niang said of his phone conversation with Rivers. “Just simply because that’s the guy that’s taking me in and out of the game. He had a vision for me, and it aligned with [how] I thought I fit in. He wants to win right away, and so do I. I want to be in a good culture, and that’s what he’s building here. Obviously, when I got off the phone, I was real excited because I thought, before I even made the decision, I had a home here in Philly.”
The Timberwolves, Pacers, Cavaliers, Pistons, Raptors and Spurs continue to inquire about Ben Simmons’ availability, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports via a league source.
The Simmons saga is one of the major storylines of this preseason and it took another twist on Friday when reports surfaced that the Sixers were withholding an $8.25MM advance payment from their disgruntled playmaker.
However, as Pompey points out, this standoff could drag on until after December 15, when many free agents signed this summer can be included in trades.
The Sixers have put an exorbitant price tag on Simmons, in part while waiting to see if the Trail Blazers made Damian Lillard available or if the Wizards were willing to part with Bradley Beal. Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, tried to assist the Sixers in receiving a five-player package for Simmons in a three-team trade but Philadelphia’s asking price was too rich, according to Pompey.
The withheld salary has been placed in an escrow account. Simmons is likely to receive all the money in his contract once he’s traded, Pompey notes, since it’s expected the team that acquires him will waive the fines the Sixers have instituted for his refusal to show up for training camp.
The Inquirer’s beat writer explored the standoff in great detail. Here are some highlights:
- Simmons’ desire to be traded was communicated to the front office just days after the team was eliminated from the playoffs. Paul told GM Elton Brand his client wanted out three days after the Hawks bounced the team out of the playoff chase. Brand then told president of basketball operations Daryl Morey.
- When the Sixers asked why Simmons wanted out, Paul told them his client was “mentally exhausted,” says Pompey.
- When Morey was hired last November, Simmons suspected he wouldn’t be with the franchise long-term. He was the centerpiece in trade talks with Morey’s former team, Houston, in the Sixers’ failed attempt to acquire James Harden. Simmons even went house shopping in Houston in anticipation of being dealt.
- Simmons doesn’t have any ill will toward his All-Star teammate Joel Embiid, but believes their partnership on the court has “run its course.” Even if he does return to Philadelphia to rejoin the team, Simmons has no intentions of playing another game for the Sixers.
The terms of Ben Simmons‘ contract with the Sixers call for him to receive 25% of his $33MM salary for the 2021/22 season on October 1, after he received the first 25% on July 1. However, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the 76ers don’t intend to give Simmons that advance payment of roughly $8.25MM on Friday.
Philadelphia’s stance is that Simmons is not fulfilling the terms of his contract by not reporting to training camp, according to Fischer, who says that league-office personnel and players’ union officials believe the Sixers are within their rights to withhold that payment.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Brian Windhorst, and Bobby Marks confirm (via Twitter) that the Sixers won’t give Simmons that $8.25MM today, noting that the team has put that money into an escrow account. The fines he accrues will come out of that amount going forward, per the ESPN trio.
There had been some uncertainty about whether the 76ers would take this route, since refusing to pay such a large sum would escalate the standoff with Simmons and perhaps make a resolution less likely. However, a resolution has never seemed especially likely anyway, and there has also been a sense that the league – and other team owners – would want to see Philadelphia take a strong stance to discourage other players from holding out in the same manner.
One source close to the situation told Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link) that Simmons’ camp believes he’ll get the money one way or another — even if the Sixers withhold that $8.25MM for the time being, Simmons could still eventually get it (minus fines) via an arbitration process or by reaching a resolution with the team. Additionally, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN noted on his latest Hoop Collective podcast, if and when a trade gets completed, Simmons’ new club would likely do all it can to make sure he gets paid in full to avoid starting the relationship off on the wrong foot.
Interestingly, Fischer says there have been “growing whispers” among his sources this week that Simmons could respond by reporting to the 76ers and saying that he’s injured. If he’s found to have a legitimate injury, Simmons wouldn’t be compelled to actually take the court for Philadelphia, but the team would still be required to pay him. However, Fischer’s sources may simply be speculating — Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) suggests that Simmons still isn’t showing up and understands the ramifications of his absence.
A trade remains the best way to end this staredown between the Sixers and their three-time All-Star, but Fischer reiterates that no deal appears close.
According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), new Timberwolves head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta has touched base with Philadelphia since receiving his promotion, but the Sixers have never seemed enthused about Minnesota’s trade assets, and that hasn’t changed since Gersson Rosas‘ dismissal.