Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob has been fined (AUD) $70,000 by the NBA for downplaying a trade for Ben Simmons, which is in violation of the league’s tampering rules.
As Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers expressed hope the Australian will return for training camp at the start of next week, Lacob was whacked with a fine for suggesting the San Francisco-based franchise isn’t interested in trading for the disgruntled Aussie.
The Warriors were one of the teams that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey approached when shopping Simmons early in the offseason.
The Warriors declined when the Sixers asked for a package of Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, the No.7 and No.14 picks in the 2021 NBA Draft and two future first-rounders for the former No.1 pick.
Simmons ‘constantly babied, doesn’t listen’
“I think we are always looking at everything to see if we can improve our team. We would always look,” Lacob told Chronicle.
“In some ways, [a trade for Simmons] doesn’t really fit what we’re doing. He makes a lot of money. 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.”
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The news comes as Sixers coach Doc Rivers went public in his appeal to get Simmons to return to Philadelphia, after the Aussie reportedly told the club he won’t play another game for the franchise.
Rivers appeared on ESPN’s First Take and denied the narrative surrounding his comments after that now infamous Game 7 where Simmons refused to shoot to tie up the game in the season-ending loss.
Immediately after that elimination game, Rivers was asked whether he believed Simmons could ever be a championship-winning point guard, to which he responded: “I don’t know, I can’t answer that right now.”
“I want to correct that,” Rivers said on ESPN.
“I would love you guys to play what I said. The question asked about Ben, it was the first one after we just lost a Game 7. My answer was, ‘I’m not answering any of that stuff right now guys, I don’t even know how to answer that.’
“All of that had nothing to do with anything about Ben, I was basically saying, ‘I’m not answering that crap’, those questions. [That’s] what disappointed me and you know I don’t do this media thing very often.
“It was Ben portraying that I didn’t think we can win with him and I do, I told that to him the next day. What really disappointed me was, the next day I went on and said, ‘Guys I don’t know exactly what I was talking about,’ and no one heard it, they just kept running their narratives.
“I don’t even know how to answer that. So what I was talking about was not answering the question. It had nothing to do with Ben.
“But it’s amazing how it gets started and just takes a life of its own.”
Rivers’ denial sparked heated reaction from reporters and media members who were at the press conference where Rivers made the comments. Rivers revealed the 76ers have hired a shooting coach, which could be an indication that Simmons might be coming back. The coach confirmed the team would “love” to have the Aussie return.
“I think in sports … there’s been so many times where this has happened that hasn’t been reported and the guy comes back,” Rivers said.
“We’re going to go through it. We’re going to always do what’s best for the team, but I can tell you up front we would love to get Ben back. And if we can, we’re going to try to do that. Ben has a long contract. It’s in our hands and we want him back.”
Asked if he had spoken to Simmons much during the offseason, he replied: “Not much, but we’ve had some,” he said. “And I get his feelings. I understand where he’s at right now, but we’re going to keep trying to work on it to get him in the right place.
“We forget how he gets guys open shots, how he puts pressure on defences with his athletic speed,” Rivers said. “Yeah, there’s things he needs to work on and we can work on, but we can absolutely win with him.”
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