2020-21-22 Sixers Season

zambonir 2021-09-30 20:03:53 UTC #581

Seems like this is the first time anyone has publicly said it about Butler.

nycphils 2021-10-01 00:26:26 UTC #582

Man, Embiid is just really really articulate. Very smart dude.

bigegypt0417 2021-10-01 13:45:52 UTC #583

I think they circled the wagons around simmons up until this point and now the players seem ready to be done with him. Ben Simmon's is going to come out of this looking very bad.

nycphils 2021-10-01 14:09:17 UTC #584

He wants a team built exclusively around him like Giannis. But he doesn’t work as hard and isn’t as good, AND isnt a rim protector. As soon as a rim protector must added, it doesn’t work unless he’s Brooke Lopez and shoots the three basically all the time.

bigegypt0417 2021-10-01 14:25:31 UTC #585

Ben Simmons wants a team built around what he doesn't want to do and his desire not to improve. Giannis has made progress every season.

flyers19rw 2021-10-01 15:59:57 UTC #586

I believe that Simmons is due a portion of his pay today. Did the Sixers pay him?

VoteForKalas 2021-10-01 16:10:46 UTC #587

Hopefully one of our intrepid 76er beat writers or TheAthletic guys will find out.

bigegypt0417 2021-10-01 16:28:48 UTC #588

i was under the impression they have to pay him but then the fines would start.

Edit...

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264247/Ben-Simmons-Camp-Expects-To-Receive-$825M-Due-Friday-Either-Now-Or-Eventually

zambonir 2021-10-01 18:37:49 UTC #589

Source is just a Marc Stein tweet.

Seems like a matter of semantics and timing. One way or another he will eventually get that lump sum as a portion of his annual pay, but if he misses 30 games, his fines per game ($277K for the first 20, $300 K for all after that) will exceed it.

I don't know that the Sixers can hold that entire payment back if they can only currently fine him $50K per missed practice so I think you're probably right. Especially if he's just supposed to start receiving the rest of his salary on the normal weekly or bi-weekly basis the first day of the regular season. The fines would come out of that.

bigegypt0417 2021-10-01 18:40:55 UTC #590

zambonir 2021-10-01 19:26:29 UTC #591

I didn't realize - per this story - that this is the second 25% payment. He already got the first. Seems a lot more reasonable to refuse to make this one then. At worst, both sides are breaking the contract.

The idea that he would show up and claim injury, be an additional distraction or just play badly continues the game of chicken though.

bigegypt0417 2021-10-01 19:30:02 UTC #592

Simmons doesn't seem to strike me as the kind of person who is tough enough to come in and face his teammates...he's not reporting...IMO.

zambonir 2021-10-01 19:49:07 UTC #593

But that's what's in the story, in sharp contrast to recent claims that he'd be willing to sit, even for the whole season.

At the end of the day, is he doing what Klutch wants, or vice-versa? Or did they give him bad advice (i.e., "don't worry, you'll get traded before camp")? He simply doesn't have the leverage other guys did, both because he's not as good and because of the contract length.

bigegypt0417 2021-10-01 20:09:24 UTC #594

Agreed!

Simmons has ruined his value to the point where the best the sixers can hope for is draft picks so i would assume they are in no hurry since that can happen for the next year.

xogfog 2021-10-01 22:47:34 UTC #595

So the Sixers withheld the 8.25 mil and he will be fined roughly $227,000 on Monday, the Sixers first preseason game, and again every game after.

jimbomill 2021-10-02 11:37:09 UTC #596

If Simmons reports, then claims injury, can the 76ers do something like the NFL and not pay him because the injury was sustained, allegedly and obviously, outside of the team's domain?

Squire 2021-10-02 13:15:25 UTC #597

I really do not think that we need to worry about Ben Simmons showing up. He lacks the courage.

zambonir 2021-10-02 15:03:24 UTC #598

Seems unlikely unless he was out riding motorcycles or surfing or something. The team wanted and expected him to work out. But if he's not really hurt the team doctors could say so, and not list him as injured.

The money's the least of it for both sides really. The idea that he might come back and play and help the team win and rebuild his trade value seems pretty clearly off the table so why would they even want him in the room or on the bench.

A few more twists left, I guess. I mean, I lack the courage to do a lot of things but it I could make $227K doing one of them tomorrow I might. He doesn't really need the $ though.

VoteForKalas 2021-10-02 20:54:13 UTC #599

I think BE and Squire are right, Simmons will not report because that would force him to face his teammates, the media and the fans. He has insulted each of them. If he does not have the stones to take outside or foul shots during a game, he definitely will not have the stones to show up at the facility now.

One could hope this would be another cautionary note for the NBA and its decision to let the players run the league. As Zambonir says, Simmons no longer needs the money and that is because of the absurd pay structure in the NBA that hands over huge bags of money to young players before they've really earned it on the court. I get why TPTB think that is a good economic model for the league, but it does force them to look past huge downsides as well. In that, they are like every other sports league and most organizations unfortunately. The almighty dollar rules and any means justify that end i.e. keeping the funds rolling in.

nycphils 2021-10-02 21:47:16 UTC #600

VFK, I think you are correct, although $8m is real money to anyone.