The feud between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers took another twist on Friday. The Sixers decided not to pay their disgruntled star $8.25 million, which is 25 percent of his $33,003,936 salary this season. On Friday, Simmons was owed that amount, but the Philadelphia 76ers opted to place that money instead into an escrow account, sources have told ESPN.
As the season progresses, the Sixers will then deduct any fines that the Australian star will accrue. Simmons will be given the remaining money in the escrow account once he shows up to work for the Sixers.
Simmons' fines mounting as Sixers' practice starts
Simmons' fines are mounting as he continues to hold out until he is traded by Philadelphia. He has already missed the 76ers' media day and the team's practice the entire week. The league's Collective Bargaining Agreement states that moderate penalties will be given to NBA players who incur unexcused absences in those team events.
In the case of Simmons, each practice that he misses will trigger a $2,500 fine. Missed trainings will also hurt Simmons' pockets as that will cost him $20,000 for each absence. It will only worsen for Simmons on Monday when the 76ers play their first preseason game against the Raptors in Toronto.
If he fails to return to the team before that outing, Simmons will be fined $227,000. That is the same amount that he will be fined for every game he misses for Philadelphia moving forward. Simmons had been made aware of that possibility in his meeting with the Sixers' top brass last month. However, Simmons remained firm on his stance to hold out until Philadelphia acted on his trade request.
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Simmons may report to Philadelphia to get his money
According to Jake Fischer of the Bleacher Report, rumors are swirling this week from NBA sources with knowledge of Simmons' situation that the Sixers star could respond to the team's decision to withhold his salary by reporting to Philadelphia in the coming days. Simmons will not play, though, maintaining that he is unable to compete for the 76ers because of an injury.
This move is entirely possible for Simmons to get his money from Philadelphia. Mo Williams has done this before in his contract dispute with the Cleveland Cavaliers and by Kyrie Irving as well, who threatened to undergo a season-ending knee surgery if the Cavs did not trade him.
Make no mistake about it, Simmons is ready to wage war against Philadelphia, with a source close to the star telling ESPN's Ramona Shelburne this week that "We're in it for the long haul." That's bad news for the Sixers, who are in a whole lot of mess just weeks before the start of the 2021-22 season.
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