Ben Simmons to pay hefty fine following Philadelphia 76ers' latest announcement

The situation between the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons standoff continues to develop a new angle with the latest report stating that Simmons will be fined by the team if he ends up missing the games.

The standoff between the two had started before the start of the new NBA season and continues to escalate. 

NBA: Ben Simmons fined

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Ben Simmons had been fined $360,000, one full game check, after missing Thursday's game against the Detroit Pistons. This is not the first time that Ben Simmons has been fined by the Philadelphia 76ers. The fines have been imposed since preseason and only stopped when Ben Simmons reported about mental illness to the Philadelphia 76ers doctors.

According to a cbssports.com report, the money collected after fining Ben Simmons was placed into an escrow account, with the procedure being also carried out during his initial series of fines. The report states that the money was eventually released after he reported to the team. Philadelphia 76ers are planning to fine Simmons again if he fails to participate in any required activities, including strength training, film sessions and some presence at practice and shootarounds. 

Earlier, ESPN had reported that Ben Simmons' refusal to accept assistance from the franchisee to address his mental readiness to play is causing a headache for the Philadelphia 76ers. The report further stated that Ben Simmons has worked with mental health professionals via the National Basketball Players Association (NBA) since the summer but is yet to provide details of those meetings to the team.  According to a report, the Philadelphia 76ers has  so far fined Simmons nearly $2 million for missing games, practices and meetings earlier this season

More about the Ben Simmons-Philadelphia 76ers standoff 

The Ben Simmons-Philadelphia 76ers standoff started after the player had requested for a trade during the offseason, while the franchisee had refused to trade the player. Earlier, Simmons had a holdout from taking part in training camp and in the early part of the preseason, however, he did flip and made a surprise return to the team.  

The return did not start on a great note for Simmons after he was kicked out of the practice by coach Doc Rivers for failing to engage in the drill. Earlier ESPN citing a source, had reported that Ben Simmons had discomfort in his back on Thursday and with the help of Philadelphia 76ers staff he underwent brief treatment before getting the clearance from medical staff. However, the player left the arena without doing any on-court activity. 

Coming to the Ben Simmons situation, recently 76ers GM Daryl Morey during a radio interview with 97.5 The Fanatic had said that the standoff with Simmons could last till his four years in the contract come to an end. Citing that the team is not in a hurry, Morey said that Simmons wouldn’t be traded unless his trade makes a difference for the team.