Former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons is still unsigned this summer. Most teams have lost their belief in the 6-foot-9 point guard, whose career has gone downhill after leaving the 76ers. Simmons was a three-time All-Star and even an MVP candidate at one point. However, many believe that he lost his confidence during the 2021 playoff against the Atlanta Hawks.
Now, the former star guard is considering retirement from the game. Even his agent, Bernie Lee, has parted ways with him. On Friday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst gave a discouraging update on Simmons’ value in the market. Windhorst said that there isn’t much interest from teams to sign the often-injured star. The insider went on to describe it as “lukewarm.”
“At the end of the day, Ben Simmons’ stock has been falling dramatically for years and the fact that we’re in September, he doesn’t have a full-time, guaranteed job, I think speaks to that,” Windhorst said.
In a recent episode of “Club 520 Podcast,” former NBA star Jeff Teague gave Simmons the reality check. Although there have been reports that the Australian player is considering retirement, Teague doubled down.
“Yeah it’s over bro y’all seen him when he was playing. He can’t move no more,” Teague said. “He runs like people on 2K. If you’ve got Kawhi’s motion style, you know what I’m talking about. You run like your back hurts. He runs like his back hurts. He’s hurt, I used to always be like okay whatever, but no, he’s legit hurt. What made him effective was pushing the ball and being dynamic in transition and he can’t do that anymore. Or he doesn’t have the opportunity, like nobody believes it.”
So far, the former Rookie of the Year for the Philadelphia 76ers has not made a final decision on his basketball career.
The former Philadelphia 76ers still generated interest from the Knicks
There’s no denying that Simmons had a significant decline in his career after leaving Philly. He dealt with back injuries and a lack of confidence in his on-court game. He went from being an MVP-caliber player to potentially earning a veteran minimum.
Despite that, there are still a few franchises that believe he can bring something to their team. One of which is the New York Knicks. Stefan Bondy of The New York Post reported that the Knicks still have an interest in signing him despite the retirement rumors.
“Ben Simmons has generated interest from the Knicks and another team but is also questioning whether he even wants to continue playing in the NBA next season, The Post has learned,” Bondy wrote.
Even with that, the Knicks haven’t offered the former Philadelphia 76ers star any deal that could indicate their interest.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
