July 03, 2016
With Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo looking on, No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons signed his rookie contract on Saturday night. That should put to rest any speculation Simmons won’t play for the Sixers in summer league:
Happy to say I'm a part of the family #Sixers @Sixers pic.twitter.com/FYa2IE8PMS
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) July 3, 2016
In reality, there wasn’t too much of a negotiation here. The top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft has a scale salary figure of $4,919,300, and the Sixers can offer slightly above or below that figure. In almost all cases, the team offers 120 percent. From Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ:
“A team may sign a player for as little as 80% or as much as 120% of the scale salary figure. Teams usually spring for the full 120%, but there have been exceptions.”
Considering that the Sixers aren’t exactly hurting for salary cap space, that means Simmons will likely make $5,903,160 in 2016-17.
Later, the team also announced that they signed Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, the 24th overall pick, to his rookie contract. The Sixers will begin summer league play on Monday in Utah, and both players will participate.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
