Ben Simmonsā situation has officially gotten out of control. Regardless of the possibility of a salary holdout, the former first-overall pick has still let the Philadelphia 76ers know that heās not going to attend training camp.
Simmons has drawn plenty of criticism around current and former NBA players and analysts over the past couple of months. They believe heās running away instead of embracing criticism and facing his flaws head-up.
But more than that, some players believe that his tantrum could have great financial implications for the rest of the NBA, as heās setting a dangerous precedentthat owners will look to avoid in the future.
Kendrick Perkins Says Ben Simmonsā Selfishness Could Hurt All NBA Players
Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins said that Simmonsā attitude will take a toll on the upcoming CBA agreement, as owners wonāt want to risk spending dozens of millions on players just for them to sink their trade value and force their way out:
āMy thing why Iām disappointed in Ben Simmons is that you have a job,ā Perkins said on ESPNās The Jump.āYou have an obligation. Youāre getting paid a whole lot of money. Thereās guys before you who paved the way to make a lot of money. Itās your obligation to uphold that so that other guys that come behind you could get paid the same amount of dollars.ā
āWhatās gonna happen is the next CBA, owners are gonna come up, and this is the first thing theyāre gonna bring up. Hold on, we cannot be paying guys $150 to $250 million over five years. I think heās being selfish and heās not worrying about nobody else but Ben Simmons. You have to do your part because others paved the way for you,ā Perkins added.
In reality, Simmons is the only person to blame for this situation. Even if he has valid reasons to be upset with the Sixers and Doc Rivers, the truth is that he was the one who didnāt improve over years, who didnāt work on his flaws, who had several meltdowns in the playoffs, and who ultimately sank his trade value with his actions on and off the court.
