Ben Simmons files grievance seeking $20M from 76ers
Ben Simmons wants to get paid.
The current Brooklyn Nets guard has filed a grievance against his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, seeking approximately $20 million of salary the Sixers withheld from him, ESPN reported Saturday.
The case will go to arbitration, according to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NBA and National Basketball Players Association.
Philadelphia insists that Simmons failed to honor his contract by not showing up for training camp and not playing in preseason or regular-season games, per USA Today.
He was fined upwards of $1.3 million for missing training camp and the preseason, and $360,000 for each missed game once the season began.
Simmons — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 Draft — cited mental health for his limited participation and requested a trade in the 2021 offseason.
After months of no action on the trade front, the Sixers finally dealt Simmons to Brooklyn in a blockbuster deal involving James Harden just hours before the trade deadline on Feb. 12. He has yet to play a game for the Nets since the trade, however, as he is currently nursing a herniated disc.
Simmons previously signed a five-year, $170 million extension with Philadelphia in 2019, which kicked in beginning with the 2020-21 season.
The CBA says that a grievance must be initiated within 30 days from the date of either the occurrence upon which the complaint is based or when facts of the matter become known to initiate the grievance.
It's been more than seven weeks since the trade, but Simmons' representatives say they believe the trade did not trigger a 30-day window to initiate a grievance because the issue had been ongoing all season, per ESPN.
