Ben Simmons is no longer being fined by the Sixers for missed practices and games, according to reports from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of Substack.
While it’s unclear exactly when the team stopped assessing those fines, it’s probably safe to assume the decision was made last Friday, after Simmons met with the club and told them he wasn’t mentally ready to play.
As Shelburne notes, there’s a provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that protects a player’s salary in the event that he misses time for mental health reasons, which is one reason why the Sixers have stopped those fines from accumulating. The Sixers are taking Simmons’ claim in good faith and have offered him any resources he needs to work through the situation.
Through his holdout in training camp and the preseason, Simmons racked up nearly $2M in fines for missed games, practices, and meetings, including the salary lost due to being suspended for Philadelphia’s regular season opener. It remains unclear if he’ll be able to recoup any of that money via arbitration or an agreement with the Sixers.
Although there has been no indication that Simmons has wavered in his desire to be traded, his standoff with the franchise doesn’t appear as acrimonious at the moment as it has been at times. “Right now, everybody’s in a good place,” Shelburne said during her ESPN appearance.
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