NBA superstar Ben Simmons is facing a difficult few weeks ahead of him after refusing to return to the Philadelphia 76ers until he is traded – akin to the move pulled by Harry Kane when the striker wanted to leave Tottenham.
Simmons, Maya Jama’s boyfriend, has four more years left on his current contract that makes him $33million per year.
He cannot trade the franchise until his current contract expires.
He has reportedly decided to leave the team for next week’s training camp, even though he appears to have the option.
Although the defensive powerhouse has his sights set on California, the Golden State Warriors have not been reported to be interested.
(Image: WireImage)
That leaves only the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings as California-based options.
Joe Lacob, the Warriors team owner was fined $50,000 after violating the NBA’s rules regarding tampering to discuss Simmons.
He stated that it didn’t fit with what he was doing. He has a lot to lose.
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“And, can he finish games? I don’t know. He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond [Green]. Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”
The Brooklyn Nets could be linked to a deal to acquire Simmons. But they would likely have to part with Kyrie Irving.
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith said earlier this week that he believed there would be a trade between the Eastern conference teams had it not been for Irving’s friend, and team-mate Kevin Durant.
However, he quickly backtracked on those comments, saying in a tweet: “Here we go with the lies again. I never said any trade offers were made regarding Kyrie & Brooklyn Nets.
“What I said is, they would do a deal to swap Kyrie for Ben Simmons in a heartbeat, but Durant ain’t having it. He loves Kyrie. He won’t have that!”
Jama and Simmons have been posting to social media frequently together since their engagement at Wimbledon.