Ben Simmons' 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 he's 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 he's 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 he's setting a dangerous precedent that owners will look to avoid in the future.
Kendrick Perkins Says Ben Simmons' Selfishness Could Hurt All NBA Players
Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins said that Simmons' attitude will take a toll on the upcoming CBA agreement, as owners won't want to risk spending dozens of millions on players just for them to sink their trade value and force their way out:
“My thing why I’m disappointed in Ben Simmons is that you have a job,” Perkins said on ESPN's The Jump. “You have an obligation. You’re getting paid a whole lot of money. There’s guys before you who paved the way to make a lot of money. It’s your obligation to uphold that so that other guys that come behind you could get paid the same amount of dollars.”
“What’s gonna happen is the next CBA, owners are gonna come up, and this is the first thing they’re gonna bring up. Hold on, we cannot be paying guys $150 to $250 million over five years. I think he’s being selfish and he’s not worrying about nobody else but Ben Simmons. You have to do your part because others paved the way for you," 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 didn't improve over years, who didn't 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.
