Spinnable Sports Your Sports, Our Spin
Despite only entering the second season of a five year contract, his interest in playing in Philadelphia seems to mirror his interest in developing an outside shot jump shot.
What Does This Mean
Typically whenever a player tries to force a team in trading them, that player has some amount of leverage in the situation. Like whenever a player is nearing the end of their contract, they may make it clear that intentions are to move on elsewhere and therefore a trade would be in everyone’s best interest.
However, Ben Simmons is only entering the 2nd year of a 5 year deal that is scheduled to pay him $147 million dollars. Also, he’s a point guard without an outside jump shot playing in an NBA era that emphasizes outside shooting. What if zero teams are willing to trade for him? Would that reality check be enough to get him back to Philly, or would he simply walk away from the game entirely?
Is It Adam Silver Time?
It seems that this situation may be reaching a point in which it will require the NBA commissioner to intervene. But what is the solution to an issue like this? Player signs 5 year deal, fulfills one year of service, refuses to return to team.
At what point does this become a breech of contract, allowing the 76ers to recoup any salary paid to Simmons following his refusal to return to the team? A lot of unanswered questions as we head into one of the more unprecedented sports holdouts.
