Unfortunately, former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons is still a free agent this offseason. He had a strong start to his career and was selected first overall in the 2016 draft. It looked great at the beginning of his time in the NBA, and he was even recognized as an All-Star three times. It looked great for the Australian star at that time.
However, his blunder at the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks exposed his flaws. People already knew his flaws, which include his lack of a 3-point shot. But everything came crumbling down in their playoff series against the Hawks.
Former 76ers guard Patrick Beverley weighed in on the current state of Simmons. He claims that if the 2018 Rookie of the Year hadn’t been selected by Philadelphia in the draft, things might have turned out differently. Beverley believes that being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets would’ve been different for the former All-Star.
Beverley didn’t mention that it could’ve had a drastic difference. But he said that being in Charlotte would’ve encouraged him to practice his outside stroke.
“Confidence, injuries. Injuries and confidence,” the former Philadelphia 76ers guard explained what went wrong with Simmons. “When Ben Simmons first came out, it was LeBron James comparisons. He had so much hype and his demeanor was so chill that you respected it more.
Is Philly to blame for the fall off of Ben Simmons? pic.twitter.com/w9DWg5SbCf
— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) September 11, 2025
“If he would’ve went to another team, and you know, Philly fans, I love them, but if you ain’t doing what you need to do, they gonna let you know in a heartbeat,” Beverley said. “If he would’ve went to a Charlotte to start, without all the harsh backlash he got from fans, media and all that, he probably would’ve had a three.”
Beverley gets real on the trade rumors about the former Philadelphia 76ers star
There were reports that the former Philadelphia 76ers star had an offer from the New York Knicks. Before the Knicks signed Malcolm Brogdon, there was a report from NBA insider Marc Stein that the Knickerbockers wanted to add Simmons to their roster. Stein added that the one-time All-NBA declined the offer from the New York franchise. However, Ian Begley dismissed the report and confirmed that the Knicks never made an official offer to Simmons.
Even with that, Beverley got real on the talk about Simmons and said that he shouldn’t be declining the offers from the Knicks or other big market teams.
“Lakers, Knicks come calling? Them deals you don’t turn down. That’s like the Dallas Cowboys calling, or the Chiefs calling us. You don’t turn big markets down for whatever reason, especially not for money.”
Simmons remains unsigned and there hasn’t been any new update on which new team has taken an interest in signing him.
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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.
