Mere weeks before NBA teams reconvene for training camp, Ben Simmons remains among the ranks of unsigned free agents. That’s not, however, because he hasn’t had opportunities to catch on.
In fact, according to longtime NBA journalist Marc Stein, the 29-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick and three-time All-Star had an offer to join a championship contender … but turned it down:
The Knicks, league sources said, indeed offered a one-year contract to Ben Simmons that the former All-Star passed on.
New York is limited to minimum contract offers as training camps draw near and Simmons entered the summer hopeful of securing a contract above the minimum after he split last season between the Nets and Clippers.
Boston and New York, I’m told, expressed the most serious interest in Simmons this summer.
Word of New York’s interest in Simmons’ services started circulating back in mid-July, after the initial thrust of free agency, as the Knicks considered their options for adding another perimeter defender and/or backup ball-handler behind superstar point guard Jalen Brunson. Several other teams, including the Celtics, Suns and Kings, reportedly checked in on Simmons, but no deal materialized, leaving Simmons lingering on the market as the summer wore on.
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All remained quiet on the Simmons front until last week, when Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reported that Simmons was “questioning whether he even wants to continue playing in the NBA next season.” Shortly thereafter, Stein reported that Simmons’ agent, Bernie Lee, had decided to step away from representing him, and Jake Fischer reported in his Bleacher Report Insider Notebook that the only offers available for Simmons to this point in the offseason have been for the veteran’s minimum.
Simmons wouldn’t be the first former max-salary-level star to chafe at the notion that, in the eyes of the league at large, he was no longer worth paying anything more than the minimum — especially while he’s still on the right side of 30. It’s been quite a while, though, since Simmons has made a star-level impact on the floor.
The former 76ers star hasn’t made an All-Star team, averaged seven points per game, played more than 51 games, or even attempted a half-dozen shots per game since 2021. Whether you chalk that persistent underperformance up to a mental block dating back to that pass against the Hawks in the playoffs, to the ongoing physical toll of persistent back injuries, to some combination of both, or to something else entirely, Simmons’ production and performance over the last several seasons have waned to the point that, despite his size and defensive gifts, it’s difficult to see him as much more than a back-end-of-the-rotation piece for any team of consequence.
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Case in point: After joining the Clippers last season following his buyout in Brooklyn, Simmons averaged just 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 16.4 minutes per game, shooting 43.4% from the field and attempting just seven total free throws in 295 regular-season minutes across 18 games. Those opportunities dwindled even more precipitously in the postseason; Simmons logged a total of 42 minutes in L.A.’s seven-game playoff loss to the Nuggets.
On one hand, players who are 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds with multiple All-Defensive Team selections to their name don’t grow on trees, and would figure to continue to command a roster spot somewhere in the NBA. On the other, players who don’t look at the basket and struggle to make shots when they do, and who have a difficult time staying on the floor due to ongoing back issues, would seem like an awfully tricky fit — especially if they’re not necessarily interested in taking a reduced salary and role when it’s offered. There might still be a place in the league for Simmons; if he’s holding out hope for one with a higher price tag, though, a wait that’s already taken the entire offseason may well continue a lot longer.
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