The Ben Simmons saga seems far from over. The former first-overall pick and his agent Rich Paul are determined to sit out the season if that’s what it takes to get him away from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons hasn’t shown up to training camp and has no intention whatsoever of changing his mind, even though it has already taken a toll on his pocket.
The Sixers placed nearly $8.5 million (25% of his salary) on an escrow account and won’t pay him a single dollar if he doesn’t show up to work. That’s money that he may not be able to get back even if he gets traded:
(Transcript via Tin Bontemps and Bobby Marks of ESPN)
“The fine falls under the agreement spelled out between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association in the Health and Safety Protocols, where a player who is unable to play due to “reasonable cause” will have his compensation for this season reduced by 1/91.6th (about 1.09%) of the player’s base compensation for each game he misses.
In the event Simmons skips all four of the 76ers’ preseason games, Simmons will lose roughly $1.4 million in fines. If he’s traded, for example, on Nov. 19 — a month into the regular season — he will lose roughly $7.2 million in salary.
This is not money Simmons can get back in the event Philadelphia eventually accedes to his wish to be traded. The team that chooses to trade for him cannot agree to pay Simmons the money he is owed in fines from Philadelphia. Instead, Simmons would only be able to get some, or all, of the fine money back by coming to a settlement with the 76ers, who would have no incentive to do so.”
Clearly, money isn’t an issue — or THE issue — for Simmons in this situation. He wants to be traded and doesn’t mind losing a few million. He’s got plenty of cash to spare.
For now, it doesn’t seem like this situation is going to end any time soon. But one thing is clear: Simmons will never wear the Sixers jersey again.
