The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly stopped fining Ben Simmons as the Australian’s trade saga takes another turn.
The disgruntled Aussie has already lost more than $2 million in fines for missing the team’s preseason games and practice and has also missed the team’s first three games of the NBA season.
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Things have seemingly turned since the 25-year-old told teammates and officials he is not mentally ready to play for the Sixers. Since the announcement, star teammate Joel Embiid changed his tune about the Aussie, urging the Sixers supporters to get behind him. The meeting also resulted in an outpouring of support from fellow teammate Tobias Harris.
According to ESPN, the Sixers are treading carefully in relation to Simmons’ alleged mental health issues in line with the collective bargaining agreement, and have offered the Australian medical assistance. Along with that, the franchise has opted to not financially penalise Simmons for missing time with the team from now on.
“There was a lot of positive talk from the players over the weekend and it’s continued into the week. To show that and to acknowledge that shows that the Sixers have stopped fining Ben Simmons,” reporter Ramona Shelbourne told ESPN’s NBA Today.
“That was a big part of this the first couple of weeks here when he was not showing up to games and didn’t show up to camp. They’ve stopped fining him.
“Some of this is a standard provision in player contracts that if you’re dealing with a mental health issue, which Ben Simmons has reported to the team that he is and that he wants to work on himself mentally and physically this week, they’ve taken that in good faith.
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“They’ve said ‘okay, we are taking that as you working on yourself mentally and physically, we’ve offered to make these resources available to you’. So right now, everybody’s in a good place and the fines are not accumulating, and that was an issue for Ben Simmons.
“He has been showing up at the facility and he’s going to continue showing up. He’s been treated for that upper back stiffness by the team trainer, but he’s also working out with his trainer away from the facility and staying in really good shape.
“We talked to a source close to him who said he’s continuing to work on himself mentally and physically this week. Where this leads? We’ll see. We have a long time between now and a resolution, but the Sixers are hopeful. They’ve made all the resources available to him, he’s not going to see any doctor and everybody is in a good, positive place right now.
“If this progresses and he’s starting to feel more mentally and physically ready to play, there’s a hope he would take on individual workouts at the facility and then rejoin the team. But there’s no timetable on when he would return.
“Everyone you talk to on both sides of this says Friday was a big moment for them, because Ben faced his teammates, they got to talk to him, he got to talk to them. It was a big step for him, at least. This has been going on for months and he hadn’t seen a lot of these teammates since Game 7. It was a big deal for him all summer long and finally you see them and there was a thawing there.”
However, there does seem to be some scepticism within the city and the team about the Australian’s mental health claims, with a section of local media and fans not buying Simmons’ excuse.
ESPN’s Phil Murphy told Triple M that some within the Sixers feel like Simmons’ move “seems more like petulance than mental health issues”.
While the Australian’s immediate playing future is under a cloud, there’s no doubt his current stalemate will have ramifications on the league going forward.
NBA legend and former Sixer Charles Barkley, who has been a vocal critic of Simmons, believes his behaviour will have the owners on alert come the next collective bargaining agreement.
“The owners are not going to take this shit lying down,” Barkley said. “I think the next collective bargaining agreement is going to be very contentious. There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to have a strike or a lockout.”
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