U-turn flips Ben Simmons trade saga on its head

The Ben Simmons-Philadelphia trade saga has gone full circle with threats and bluffs leaving the messy divorce back where it all started.

Ben Simmons and the Sixers are a complete mess.

The threats and likely bluffs have resulted in the situation going full circle with the Philadelphia team now expecting the 25-year-old to play for the team this season.

It was reported earlier this month that Simmons is prepared to be fined $1.3 million if it means skipping training camp and reports also claimed Simmons’ camp is blaming president Daryl Morey and head coach Doc Rivers for the ongoing saga.

The Sixers are reportedly continuing to demand a king’s ransom in return for releasing the Aussie from his contract.

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According to reporter Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times in Philadelphia, the team is now resigned to holding on to Simmons as a result of their failure to receive an attractive trade offer.

Ben Simmons. Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images/AFP.

The report also details the team is not willing to accept a deal centred around future draft picks and want a genuine All-Star to replace Simmons while the Sixers believe they are in a championship window centred around the form and fitness of Joel Embiid.

After failing to strike a deal, Philadelphia has now performed a dramatic U-turn and is of the belief the team’s best option is to hold Simmons to his contract, even if it means fining him as much as $308,000 per day if he fails to show up for pre-season training.

Moore’s report claims the team has told Simmons he is no longer on the trade table.

He wrote: “NBA source: The Sixers ‘are expecting Ben Simmons to play in 2020-21. The expectation is they will. It’s bumpy right now and the team expects it to get better’.

“The 76ers don’t plan on making a deal that would drop them back in the standings and not get viable offers.

“More from NBA source: ‘Eventually he’s going to show up. Sixers will go from there’. They apparently plan to fine Simmons if he doesn’t attend 2021-22 camp, pre-season and so on. Don’t want to trade for draft picks and try to convert to players. Can’t get any of 5-10 NBA guys they like.”

The Process is hanging by a thread. Photo by Christian Petersen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP.

The 76ers are reported to have begun discussing Simmons’ future and potential trades almost immediately after he fell apart in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-final series against Atlanta.

The situation deteriorated two weeks ago with Simmons reportedly telling the team in a secret meeting that he officially wants out.

Simmons’ relationship with Philadelphia is broken despite having four years and a whopping $147m remaining on his deal.

The team’s U-turn to hold Simmons to his contract appears a recipe for disaster with the bad blood looking impossible to overcome.

The calculated backflip or brazen bluff means there is no end in sight for the extraordinary confrontation.

The saga has led to stinging criticism for both parties in recent weeks with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal hammering the Aussie basketball star earlier this month as the saga continued to get messier by the day.

Barkley said he was disappointed in Simmons taking an $AUD270 million ($US200m) contract from the Sixers while “sulking” about wanting to leave when things go difficult.