Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly reached a settlement agreement on the grievance the former No. 1 overall selection filed to get back a portion of the nearly $20 million he lost after not playing any games last season, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
ESPN Sources: Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers have reached a settlement agreement on the grievance the All-Star guard filed to recoup a portion of the nearly $20 million withheld him as a result of his failure to play games in the 2021-2022 season. Story soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 15, 2022
Simmons and Philly agreed to a confidentiality agreement on the exact financial settlement, according to Woj. The 76ers made their case based on their belief that Simmons breached his contract by not showing up to training camp and not playing for the franchise during the 2022-23 season. Simmons’ argument was that his mental health was compromised, and that was the reason he couldn’t play.
Simmons’ struggles with mental health after he was heavily criticized after the 76ers lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs. Coach Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid were critical of Simmons’ lack of aggressiveness, but Embiid later came out and said that he had Simmons’ back and wanted to play with him before the former All-Star was shipped to Brooklyn.
Both sides agreed to a confidentiality agreement on the exact financial settlement, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 15, 2022
After Simmons was traded for James Harden at the trade deadline, a back injury he suffered sometime during the season prevented him from playing with the Nets at all. Simmons went under the knife to solve the issue in May.
