PHILADELPHIA (Audacy) — When Ben Simmons confronted the 76ers and said he wasn't mentally ready to rejoin the team and play basketball at that point, his teammates showed their support and it seemed like he may have been on the way to rekindling his relationship with the organization.
Around two weeks later, it looks like we're heading back to square one.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers are set to resume fining Simmons, beginning with a $360,000 fine for missing Thursday night's game against the Detroit Pistons.
Though he has reportedly been receiving medical help outside of the 76ers, he has refused to "provide basic details of his course of mental health meetings, evaluations or treatments or to accept consultation with any specialists arranged by the team."
Thus, because team officials have offered their assistance, they essentially believe they "are left no choice" but to continue fining him until he cooperates not only on his mental health, as Wojnarowski notes, but also regarding other basketball-related obligations.
While Simmons has shown up regularly for some activity, the other obligations may be strength training, film study and a general presence at practices.
According to Wojnarowski, Simmons' salary will, like before, be placed into an escrow account. That's the same way the team did this earlier in the year, and Simmons' money was released from escrow when he had shows signs of progress regarding his return to play.
The 76ers are currently playing pretty well without Simmons: in fact, they're in first place with a 7-2 record and have a sparkling 116.0 offensive rating, good for first in the NBA.
