From max deal to minimum: Ben's waiting game

• ‍The Ballard of Aussie Benjamin David Simmons‍
• 'Buy-out' Ben Simmons to sign with LA Clippers‍
• Australia's BILLION dollar men's basketball players‍
• Latest News: Read more about Aussies in the NBA here

Australian free agent Ben Simmons' time as a starting point guard in the NBA is over — at least for now.

"You know, the interest has been lukewarm. There are a few teams that are interested. Frankly, if you’re looking at him as a point guard, there’s not that many teams out there that are in need of a point guard who has guaranteed playing time," ESPN's Brian Windhorst told colleague Kane Pitman this week.

"If you’re looking at him as sort of a defensive big man, there’s a little bit bigger of a market.

"But the reality is he’s looking at the minimum contract, which is still, you know, about (USD) $4 million for him this year.  

"He might even be forced to take a contract where he’s not guaranteed — where he would have to sort of earn his way on to the team through training camp and then maybe not know his status until midway through the season."

It's the brutal reality for the 2016 No1 NBA Draft pick, who is coming off the last year of the max deal he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in July 2019: non-guaranteed league minimum for the 3× NBA All-Star (2019–2021); All-NBA Third Team (2020); 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2020, 2021); NBA Rookie of the Year (2018); NBA All-Rookie First Team (2018); and NBA steals leader (2020).

But a lot has happened between then and now. He's nowhere near the player he was after suffering a debilitating back injury offsetting his inability to shoot the ball.

📜 Rookie Contract (Philadelphia 76ers)

• Drafted: 2016, No. 1 overall by the 76ers
• Contract: 4 years, (USD) $26.6M (rookie scale)
• Details: Signed July 2016. First two years guaranteed (~$16.4M), final two years team options.
• Notes: Missed entire rookie season (2016–17) due to foot injury.

💰 Rookie Extension (Philadelphia 76ers)

• Signed: July 2019
• Contract: 5-years, (USD) $177.2M max extension (Designated Rookie Scale)
• Details: Kicked in starting 2020–21 season. Fully guaranteed.
• Annual Salary Breakdown:
  • 2020–21: $30.6M
  • 2021–22: $33.0M
  • 2022–23: $35.4M
  • 2023–24: $37.9M
  • 2024–25: $40.3M

🔄 Trade to Brooklyn Nets

• Date: February 10, 2022
• Deal: Simmons traded from Philadelphia to Brooklyn in the James Harden trade.
• Contract Status: Continued playing under his 5-year, $177M extension.
• Buy-out: The Nets bought out the remainder of Simmons' contract and he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline in 2025.

Windhorst said Simmons will more than likely sign with a team, potentially the New York Knicks, when the landscape reveals a destination that fits for both Simmons and the franchise closer to the start of the season.

"Ask Russell Westbrook. Not that Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons are similar players, but they are two veteran free agents that are sitting on their market because there’s not a vast need for point guards," Windhorst added.

"And if that’s the case, maybe he may want to wait a few months to see where a good fit would be, where he would join a team that would have a need for a point guard.

"At the end of the day, Ben Simmons’ stock has been falling dramatically for years, and the fact that we’re into September and he doesn’t have a full-time guaranteed job I think speaks to that.

"It’s been one of the more fascinating stories, certainly in Australian basketball over the last five years — the fall of Ben Simmons to get to this point.

"But we’ll see what happens in the next couple of months."