New team, old role for Ben Simmons

• Ben Simmons signed with the LA Clippers after being bought out by the Brooklyn Nets
• The Clippers revealed plans to use Simmons as a point guard and in the short roll
• Simmons and fellow Aussie Patty Mills will be teammates in the NBA for the second time

Ben Simmons could make a return to the role which propelled him into a three-time NBA All-Star after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed their plans for the previously troubled Aussie star.

The Clippers signed Simmons to a veteran minimum, believed to be around $1.1 million according to ESPN”s Shams Charania, after he secured a buyout from the final year of his contract, worth $40 million, with the Brooklyn Nets.

The 28-year-old’s move to Los Angeles also means a reunion with Patty Mills, who was moved to the Clippers from the Utah Jazz before the trade deadline. It will be the second time the pair have been teammates in the NBA following a brief stint together in Brooklyn.

With the Clippers one of the surprise teams of the NBA, sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference despite the loss of Paul George in the offseason and missing Kawhi Leonard with a knee injury for a significant period to start the season, the addition of Simmons could provide a major boost for coach Ty Lue and his team’s chances in the playoffs.

Simmons said Lue’s plans to use him as a point guard was a major factor in his decision to sign with Los Angeles.

“That’s one of the things, I spoke to a few different teams, and that was the first thing they (Clippers) said to me ‘we see you as a point guard’,” he said in his introductory press conference.

“For me, truly that’s my position. I see the floor, I want to see my guys get going, get them easy buckets, control the pace and then on the defensive end, I want to be a dog, get stops and put that pressure on the ball.

“I’m ready to embrace that.

“I felt wanted (when talking to the Clippers), and that’s something you want to feel when you go to work and you want to compete at ahigh level, obviously these guys have been competing at a high level.

“It’s been a welcoming experience and I just want to compete and help this team win.

“I think it’s a little different, a different experience compared to being in Brooklyn to coming here, it’s a veteran-based team, so it’s a lot different but it’s time to get going straight away, we don’t have too much time to get a rhythm but I’m ready to get started.

“I just want to play basketball at a high level and I feel like that’s going to happen here.”

Lue said he also planned to use Simmons on the short roll when big man Ivica Zubac is on the bench after describing him as an “unbelievable passer”.

When asked if he had any injury problems before making his debut for the Clippers, predicted for Friday (Australian time) against Utah, Simmons gave a stern answer to a reporter, saying: “I feel great, ready to go”.

Simmons, who has been riddled with injuries since signing his $177.2 million deal with Philadelphia in 2019, will return to wearing No.25 he wore during his year at LSU and said he was focused only on helping his team win, and not any online criticism he has received in recent years.

“I’m a competitor, I just want to compete, regardless of all the bullsh*t that is said online that doesn’t come from me… to play alongside some of these great players is going to be great,” he said.

Simmons and Mills are teammates again, this time on a contender, and Mills said he planned to help his fellow Australian in any way he could.

"It's always been a goal of mine to have Ben in the green and gold for the Olympics and major tournaments," Mills told Guardian Australia.

"I think this can be a great and refreshing start for Ben and I'll help him in any way I can."

“I got to know Ben on a deeper level in Brooklyn and after being here at the Clippers for a little bit now and experiencing the environment they have, I think he can benefit a lot from what is here and how hard people work."

The Clippers also secured Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline.

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