Ben Simmons made a bold decision during the offseason to not return to the Philadelphia 76ers. After a pretty poor playoff run, where Simmons underperformed in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Simmons was not happy about the blame he was receiving and decided that he no longer wanted to play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Eventually, Simmons told the team that he was struggling with his mental health during the start of the season, and has not made any appearance since then. There has been a lot of doubt whether Simmons will ever play for the 76ers again, with many fans and analysts believing that Simmons was lobbying for a trade.
Simmons’ decision to not play for the 76ers has cost him a lot of money. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Simmons has lost over $19 million in fines for his refusal to appear for the 76ers. In fact, he could lose another $12 million by the end of this season if he does not play for them.
But it appears that Simmons is not bothered about the money. One source very close to Ben Simmons’ camp told Ramona Shelburne that he doesn’t care about the money, and is willing to sit out until the 76ers grant him his wish and trade him to another team.
Ben Simmons has lost over $19 million in fines since the season began and could lose another $12 million by the end of the season, per @ramonashelburne
“‘We don't give a f*ck about the money,’ one source close to Simmons says” pic.twitter.com/mqNqoljT13
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 1, 2022
“‘We don’t give a f*ck about the money,’ one source close to Simmons says”
Recently, it was revealed that Simmons harbors a lot of anger toward Joel Embiid for his comments blaming Simmons for the 76ers’ loss against the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs. Simmons feels betrayed as he never blamed Embiid for the team’s loss to the Toronto Raptors during the 2019 NBA playoffs.
There is no word on what Simmons’ future is. The belief among teams in the NBA is that it would be a surprise to see Simmons traded prior to the deadline. So it appears Simmons may be stuck in Philly and losing money for the foreseeable future.
