Ben Simmons working out with 76ers as surprise moves made in standoff

There is some light at the end of the tunnel of the Philadelphia-Ben Simmons saga after the 76ers unexpectedly changed their tune.

Ben Simmons is still holding out for a trade. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America / AFP)

The Philadelphia 76ers will continue to pay Ben Simmons, despite there being no clear indication of when he will return to the court and when his ongoing saga will end.

The change in tack represents a backflip by the Sixers, who reportedly fined the Australian upwards of $2 million for skipping the team’s training camp and pre-season games.

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Simmons has been absent from Philadelphia’s first four games of the NBA season and it remains unclear if or when he will play for the team again after demanding a trade away from the 76ers this off-season.

Simmons was sent home from training and suspended for one game when he failed to participate in a training drill last week and had been spotted snubbing the team’s group huddle at the end of practice.

The 76ers had no issue hitting Simmons’ hip pocket hard but have softened their stance after he told teammates face-to-face he is not yet mentally ready to play for them.

The Sixers’ stance was confirmed on Wednesday ahead of Philadelphia’s game against the New York Knicks.

According to NBA TNT reporter Allie LaForce, the 76ers will continue to pay Simmons as long as he commits to “getting better mentally and physically”. LaForce also reported Simmons was working out with the team — which would surprise anyone given he was kicking stones at practice last week.

“We spoke to (coach) Doc Rivers today and he said that moment he (Simmons) spoke with the team on Friday, ‘That really broke the ice, that was a huge moment for this team’,” LaForce said.

“I was also told that he has worked out at the facility in tandem with the team as recent as this morning.

“Members of the front office as well as the organisation confirmed with me he is receiving professional help for his mental health through the players’ union.

“He’s also undergoing regular treatment on his back, which he expressed concern about last week.”

Ben Simmons will continue to get paid after the 76ers changed their tune.

LaForce confirmed Philadelphia will continue to pay Simmons and revealed the impasse with the 25-year-old is “not about the money”, with the Sixers seemingly determined either to get a healthy Simmons back on the court or at least in a position where he can increase his trade value.

“A member of the front office also told me they will continue to pay him, as long as he is working on getting mentally and physically better,” LaForce said.

“They said, ‘It’s not about the money for us. It’s about winning a title. We want to win and he’s a really good player’.”

Joel Embiid, who was publicly scathing of Simmons’ no-shows, has since performed a U-turn and asked the team’s fans ahead of their first home game of the season to continue to support the Aussie “because he’s still our brother”.

Earlier this week, it was reported Simmons will not be fined for missing future games as a result of his mental health issues.

He is also reported to have cited a back injury as the reason he skipped a training session last week.

Senior reporter Ramona Shelburne said on ESPN the 76ers have taken Simmons’ mental health declaration “in good faith”.

Philly and Ben Simmons are trying to make things work. Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP

With Philadelphia unlikely to receive a big-name player in return for trading Simmons anytime soon, it appears he will remain on the 76ers’ books for the foreseeable future.

“The only way they’re going to deal him is if the team gets better and there’s just not a lot of scenarios where that makes sense right now,” LaForce said.

The entire saga surrounds Simmons’ official request in August to be traded away from Philly following the shambolic mess during their season-ending series loss to Atlanta in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

At the time it appeared Embiid and Rivers threw Simmons under the bus by blaming his meltdown as the reason the team was eliminated.

Simmons still has four years and around $200 million remaining on his contract.

Philadelphia head of basketball operations Daryl Morey continues to hold out hope of trading Simmons and said last week the stand-off could take four more years if an attractive trade offer is not received.