$26 million bait explains entire Simmons saga

A bombshell report has revealed the real reason Ben Simmons will return to face the wrath of his former team on Friday.

Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets looks on. Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images.

Ben Simmons will reportedly offer himself up as bait in order to recover the millions of dollars he was fined by the 76ers before his messy trade finally went through.

The Nets on Wednesday confirmed Simmons will be with the team and will sit on the bench for Friday’s game against Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Centre — the first time the Australian has been back since his refusal to suit up for the Sixers.

The PhillyVoice now appears to have exposed the true motive behind Simmons’ decision to face the wrath of Philadelphia fans — reporting the 25-year-old and his management are preparing to file a formal grievance against the Sixers in the coming days.

The grievance surrounds Simmons being fined a reported $26 million by the team for his refusal to suit up for games.

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After his meltdown during the Game 7 playoffs series loss to Atlanta last season where he was publicly hung out to dry by coach Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid, Simmons never played for the team again.

Simmons reportedly informed the team he was unable to perform his role as a result of mental health issues.

The team is reported to have briefly stopped fining him for each game he missed, but ultimately continued to fine him for every game he missed leading up to the blockbuster trade which saw James Harden join the Sixers.

Mystery has surrounded the team’s silence on Simmons’ departure — and why the star point guard is yet to play with his new team.

Philly Voice reports Simmons is now hoping to force his old team to repay him for the money he was fined by filing the grievance.

The report details that the team was aware that Simmons could try to take action against them — and have remained tight-lipped in public to avoid adding any bullets to the ammunition Simmons has ready to fire at them.

New Brooklyn Nets player Ben Simmons.

Ben Simmons is a big boy. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP.

The report claims Simmons will appear on the bench during Friday’s game — and the expected scene of angry fans is another piece of evidence he can use against the team when it comes to addressing his claim that he could not reasonably play for the team because of the impact on his mental health.

The two parties are expected to end up in mediation negotiations once the grievance is filed.

The Nets are yet to speak publicly about their player’s off-court dispute, however, Nets coach Steve Nash confirmed Simmons is still yet to be cleared to return to full training with the team.

“I don’t think he’s naive to think he’s not going to get some boos. I hope he enjoys it; it’s a part of the game,” Nash said of Simmons return to his former home stadium.

“Yeah it’s great. He’s on our team, he needs to be with his teammates and get the whole Philly thing out of the way a little bit. I mean, it’s not going away, but the first time is always tough to deal with.

“I think it’s just something that your first time back in any city after a trade is always a little awkward and obviously there’s some history there so it is what it is. He’ll be fine. He’s a big boy, he’ll be fine and he’s excited to join our team. He wants to be there on the bench with his teammates.”

Nets general manager Sean Marks had said he expects Simmons to start team workouts at the end of this week, but Nash said he has no set timeline for Simmons return.