The agent for Ben Simmons dropped the three-time NBA All-Star after he tuned out interest from the New York Knicks, according to the New York Post‘s Stefan Bondy.
Bondy reported that Bernie Lee made up his mind after Simmons “sent signals that he wasn’t interested in whatever came from his agent’s conversations with the Knicks.”
NBA insider Marc Stein initially reported the Knicks tabled a one-year offer to Simmons, but the 29-year-old is aiming to get more than the veteran’s minimum. Because of its salary cap situation, that’s as high as New York can go.
However, Ian Begley of SNY reported the Knicks have not made Simmons a formal offer:
Lee’s decision to drop Simmons also came as Bondy reported on Sept. 3 the 6’10” Australian may retire altogether.
The fact Simmons remains unsigned through early September speaks for itself.
His brief stint with the Los Angeles Clippers did little to boost his stock in the second half of the 2024-25 season. In 18 appearances, he averaged 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 43.4 percent from the field. Then he logged just 42 total minutes in the Clippers’ first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.
One point NBA observers make is that a notable veteran’s reputation can permanently suffer when he’s bought out of a contract. From that point forward, that player can struggle to command a contract anywhere close to what he earned before.
Russell Westbrook went from earning $47 million in 2022-23 to signing a minimum deal with the Clippers the following summer after getting traded to the Utah Jazz and agreeing to a buyout. His agent had also dropped him in July 2022 due to a disagreement about the best course for his career moving forward.
Given his age, Simmons should theoretically have some good years left, but his decline has been rapid. He’s a shell of the player who received MVP votes and was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in 2020-21.
Simmons has shown little evidence to lead a prospective suitor to believe he can turn things around, either.
The 2017-18 Rookie of the Year has made more than $203 million, so he has already attained a level of generational wealth. From that standpoint, it’s understandable why he wants a contract that’s more on his terms.
The risk is that teams might be equally content to let him walk away from the NBA.
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