Ben Simmons credited year of service for 2021-22 holdout season
The NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, released late last month ahead of free agency, came with a previously undisclosed side letter indicating Ben Simmons has received credit for a year of service for the season in which he held out from the Philadelphia 76ers and was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets, sources familiar with the matter told ESPN on Wednesday.
Source: Zach Lowe @ ESPN
Source: Zach Lowe @ ESPN
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kane Pitman @KanePitman
Is it possible that one of the 10 current NBA players (not named Ben Simmons) could miss the final 12-man FIBA World Cup squad?!
With Nick Kay, Duop Reath, Chris Goulding and Matthew Dellavedova in the mix, I think it’s possible and I certainly don’t envy the selectors. pic.twitter.com/YoPRYDBBBH – 4:08 AM
Is it possible that one of the 10 current NBA players (not named Ben Simmons) could miss the final 12-man FIBA World Cup squad?!
With Nick Kay, Duop Reath, Chris Goulding and Matthew Dellavedova in the mix, I think it’s possible and I certainly don’t envy the selectors. pic.twitter.com/YoPRYDBBBH – 4:08 AM
Sean Barnard @Sean_Barnard1
Daryl Morey is directly asked if the Tyrese Haliburton deal was on the table in exchange for Ben Simmons and responds- “We turned over every rock there. The Harden trade was really the only one available.” – 12:16 PM
Daryl Morey is directly asked if the Tyrese Haliburton deal was on the table in exchange for Ben Simmons and responds- “We turned over every rock there. The Harden trade was really the only one available.” – 12:16 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Most RPG + APG by a rookie since the merger:
16.3 — Ben Simmons
15.9 — Blake Griffin
15.7 — Shaquille O’Neal
15.4 — Mark Jackson
15.1 — Magic Johnson
Which rookie will average the most RPG + APG in the 2023-24 season? pic.twitter.com/zudQdwyX5X – 7:02 PM
Most RPG + APG by a rookie since the merger:
16.3 — Ben Simmons
15.9 — Blake Griffin
15.7 — Shaquille O’Neal
15.4 — Mark Jackson
15.1 — Magic Johnson
Which rookie will average the most RPG + APG in the 2023-24 season? pic.twitter.com/zudQdwyX5X – 7:02 PM
More on this storyline
Years of service come into play when determining whether players are eligible for maximum contracts of certain sizes and for other benefits. Counting the 2021-22 season at issue, Simmons now has seven official years of service in the NBA. Officials from several teams had argued Simmons should not receive credit for the 2021-22 season, sources said. The side letter is intended as a standalone, applying only to Simmons, and is not intended to set precedent for future cases, sources told ESPN. -via ESPN / July 20, 2023
Harden has now requested a trade from the Sixers, and in the event Harden is not traded and then refuses to report to camp, different rules would apply to him because he is in the final year of his contract, league sources told ESPN. A separate clause in the CBA — which existed in prior versions of the agreement — holds that any player who “withholds playing services for more than 30 days after the start of the last season covered by his contract” could be deemed to have violated his contract and prohibited from entering free agency or signing with “any other professional basketball team unless and until the team with which the player last played expressly agrees otherwise.” -via ESPN / July 20, 2023
Gilbert Arenas on Ben Simmons getting all the blame for 76ers playoff failures: Well, he didn’t say anything. Technically he didn’t say anything. He didn’t say anything a’right. If we are gonna put blame on someone, I am always gonna blame the most talented and the most naturally gifted of the group and that is gonna be Joel Embiid. Right? It reminds me of what Shaquille O’Neal was to Kobe Bryant. You have this guy who is hungry, he wants to win, he wants to be the best that he can be. And then he sees this ultra god-gifted player not tapping into his potential! A’right you’ve got Kobe sitting there coming 3-4 times a day. Shaq is like I am gonna show up when I show up then I go out there and give you 30, 18 rebounds and Kobe is like if you practice 3 times a day, no one on this planet can guard you. That’s the Joel Embiid thing with me like bro you are so gifted. If you put in hours and hours and hours on your craft, you will be unstoppable to the point where Ben Simmons is just… You’re supposed to be carrying this team with your dominance but you’re not and we are blaming everyone else.” -via YouTube / July 19, 2023