As the season is close to starting, the Philadelphia 76ers have been talking to agent Rich Paul on a resolution that will get Ben Simmons to report back to the team in the coming days, according to Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN.
Sixers officials and Klutch CEO Rich Paul have progressed in talks over recent days on a resolution to bring All-Star Ben Simmons back to Philadelphia in the near future, sources tell ESPN. Discussions are ongoing.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 11, 2021
Simmons asked for a trade after losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks and reiterated his desire to leave the organization in a meeting in Los Angeles with team officials. The team has been working on looking for a trade since.
With the start of preseason, the situation got more complicated when it was reported that Simmons wasn’t going to report to training camp. Obviously, these decisions had economical consequences for the former All-Star as $8.25 million of his salary, which was due to be paid on October 1st, was put into an escrow account.
Now, there’s optimism that he will report back to the team. The Sixers will still look for trade options to move Simmons but the hope still is to get him back to the court and convince him to remain in Philadelphia for the long term.
The organization's hopes are unchanged: Get Simmons back into Philadelphia, onto the court and ultimately convince him that it's still the place for the long-term.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 11, 2021
The Sixers still have two more games of preseason before their season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans.
