Simmons and Sixers settle salary dispute

NEW YORK • The Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons have reached a settlement in the grievance case their former National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star guard filed over US$20 million (S$27.6 million) withheld by the franchise last season, ESPN reported on Monday.

Both sides agreed to a confidentiality clause on the exact settlement, according to the report.

The Sixers withheld over US$20 million from Simmons during his holdout from the club, which lasted from his refusal to be involved in team activities, starting with pre-season training until his trade to the Brooklyn Nets in February.

After being blamed for their Eastern Conference semi-final play-off exit to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2020-21 season, the Australian expressed his unhappiness in Philadelphia and requested a trade.

He had signed a five-year, US$170 million max extension with Philadelphia in 2019, and was supposed to make about US$33 million last season. He also reportedly received a US$16.5 million advance on his salary before last season began.

For their part, the Sixers fined Simmons US$2 million in penalties for holding out of training camp and not taking part in required team activities.

They then docked him his US$360,000 cheque for every game he missed, citing a breach of contract. The 26-year-old cited mental health as a reason for not participating in team activities, with the Sixers acquiring James Harden and Paul Millsap in February's swop trade.

Brooklyn also received Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in the swop, in addition to Simmons, who never played a game for the Nets either. A back injury prevented him from making his debut as his new team crashed out of the play-offs in the first round to eventual NBA finalists the Boston Celtics.

On top of taking flak from Sixers fans, Simmons also came in for heavy criticism for not suiting up for Brooklyn last term, with many deeming his back injury to be more like a "mental block" resulting from his fallout with Philadelphia.

But on Monday, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, one of his most avowed critics, told the First Take programme Simmons would finally be ready to play when the NBA season starts in October.

"I ran into Ben Simmons. He and I had a nice conversation. His personal business is his personal business," Smith said.

"I had a problem with him not playing. That's the past... He swears he's ready to go."

REUTERS