Sometimes, careers just don’t work out quite the way they’re planned.
That looks like it’s going to be the case for Ben Simmons.
Still a free agent, the former Philadelphia 76ers star may not sign with anyone. According to the New York Post, Simmons is considering retirement.
Here’s how the Post summed it up in a new article:
“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.The former All-Star and Rookie of the Year, who has struggled recently with injuries and handling the public pressures of the league, is an option for the Knicks because of his upside as an elite defender and athlete to fill their backup point guard spot, a league source said. However, Simmons, who has accumulated DNPs the past few seasons, and over $200 million in career earnings, is sending a message that he isn’t sure ‘if he wants to continue,’ another source added.”
Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the 76ers.
Initially, he was a star. He was Rookie of the Year, and he made three All-Star Teams.
He mixed incredible playmaking at 6-foot-10 with stellar defense.
And then, slowly, his lack of outside shot and his decreasing confidence as a scorer even around the basket began to do him in.
Simmons has played for the Nets and Clippers since leaving the 76ers.
His scoring average hasn’t gone higher than 6.9 points per game in any of the past four seasons (although he has averaged more than 5.5 assists per game in three of those four campaigns).
Simmons simply isn’t the player he once was, and it doesn’t appear he’ll ever be the player he was meant to be.
It’d be quite the bummer if he retired now, but with injuries and a decline both playing a role in his recent NBA experience, it might not be that surprising, either.
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