Ben Simmons has said repeatedly that he wants no parts of the Philadelphia 76ers. Well, it appears he is lowering his stance a bit now.
Simmons’ agent Rich Paul has had discussions with the 76ers recently about Simmons ending his holdout and reporting to the team, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The team will continue to explore trade possibilities for Simmons, but it sounds as though some of the tension has been alleviated.
After being fined for missing the 76ers’ opening preseason loss to the Toronto Raptors — a penalty of roughly $360,000 — Simmons’ representation had another discussion with the players association in which it was reiterated they would be unable to recoup the money being deducted from the $8.25 million sitting in escrow, sources say, and it was communicated to the 76ers that these early fines were perhaps higher than they expected. Each game missed (including preseason) will incur a similar penalty, subtracting from that $8.25 million figure in the process.
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The 76ers have had a high asking price for Simmons. They reportedly want multiple first-round picks and an All-Star level talent in return for the Simmons.
At this point, it would be in Simmons’s best interest to rejoin the team and showcase his skillsets to the league. Similar to James Harden’s situation in Houston last season, he was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets early into the season.