Ben Simmons weighs up shock retirement call, despite being on the radar of New York Knicks

According to the New York Post, Simmons is questioning if he wants to continue playing next season.

The report also revealed the Knicks are talking to the polarising guard’s agent and want to sign him on a non-guaranteed deal.

New York’s offering of a veteran minimum contract – worth $4.2 million - is understandable given the Aussie’s recent run of injury and form.

However, a standoff has emerged as Simmons’ representatives are looking for a guaranteed deal.

It’s understood at least one other NBA team has expressed interest in the former No.1 draft pick whose career has dropped into freefall.

Simmons believes he still deserves big dollars despite having only played 107 games in the past four seasons.

The Melbourne born guard’s intent to become better at basketball has also been questioned.

Simmons is one of six top players still without a contract ahead of the new NBA season starting on October 18 but he is spending more time putting his feet up on a fishing boat.

A world away in Melbourne, fellow Aussie Josh Giddey is sweating through daily sessions while he waits to secure his future.

This snapshot sums up the difference in determination and desire between two of Australia’s star basketballers.

Giddey has been frustrated about his delayed contract talks with the Chicago Bulls amid suggestions the club is lowballing him, but it hasn’t stopped him from putting in the hard yards on the court.

Simmons is fighting to save his NBA career following a host of underwhelming, injury-interrupted seasons, but he is devoting more time fishing than hitting the hardwood this off-season based on his social media.

It then comes as no surprise that the gifted Aussie is considering retirement.

WHY ‘PUNCHING BAG’ SIMMONS IS PRIMED TO DEFY THE DOUBTERS

By Matt Logue

Polarising Australian NBA star Ben Simmons has become a “punching bag” according to a former teammate, who says his friend is coping mentally with his career free fall and just needs another chance to prove the doubters wrong.

New Illawarra Hawks recruit Jonah Bolden has a longstanding friendship with Simmons dating back to their youth growing up in Australia.

The pair played youth basketball against each other while their fathers – Bruce Bolden and Dave Simmons – were teammates on the Sydney Kings during the 1998 NBL season.

Bolden reunited with Simmons in 2018 when he joined the Philadelphia 76ers and they played multiple games together.

They teamed up in a regular season game in March 2019, where Bolden had a career-high 19 points in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves while Simmons had a near triple-double.

The Aussie duo also combined during the 76ers’ playoff run that season.

Six years on, Bolden is playing in the NBL with Illawarra while Simmons’ once projected Hall of Fame career is at a crossroads.

The Melbourne-born guard who broke record upon record to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2018 remains without a contract ahead of the new season, starting next month.

Simmons’ fall from grace is one of the more astonishing stories in world sport, but Bolden insists his friend and former teammate is far from done in the NBA.

“I don’t doubt it at all,” Bolden told Code Sports when asked if Simmons can secure another NBA deal for the upcoming season.

“He is still a great athlete who is super gifted and talented, so I don’t think it will get to a point where teams will pass up on him. Maybe just because of the off-court stuff, but I think NBA teams understand Ben’s role and his effect and if you can put the other stuff aside and bring him in on a ‘we know what you can do’ basis.

“I think Ben would be extremely beneficial for any team.”

GONE FISHIN

Former No.1 draft pick Simmons is one of six top players still without a contract ahead of the new NBA season starting on October 18 but he is spending more time putting his feet up on a fishing boat.

A world away in Melbourne, fellow Aussie Josh Giddey is sweating through daily sessions while he waits to secure his future.

This snapshot sums up the difference in mindset between two of Australia’s star basketballers.

Giddey has been frustrated about his delayed contract talks with the Chicago Bulls amid suggestions the club is lowballing him, but it hasn’t stopped him from putting in the hard yards on the court.

Simmons is fighting to save his NBA career following a host of underwhelming, injury-interrupted seasons, but he is devoting more time fishing than hitting the hardwood this off-season based on his social media.

That’s not to say he hasn’t been training, and maybe he has been putting in the hours in private, but the doubt in his intent is understandable when you look at his recent track record.

REFUSAL TO ACCEPT REALITY

According to some NBA scribes, a major reason Simmons remains without a deal is his unwillingness to accept a veteran minimum contract worth $4.2 million.

At the peak of his powers the Aussie star was taking home $242 million over five years at Philadelphia, but after playing just 107 games in the past four seasons since, clubs are justifiably unwilling to pay him max dollars.

Bolden – who stays in regular contact with Simmons – says his mate remains focused on reviving his NBA career.

“Ben is locked in on getting back to being healthy and back to playing again,” he said.

“It is something he has really dialled down on and realised he has to do as he has matured through the process and got older and grown into himself.

“He has got to a point where he understands the nature of the business and different things that happen.

“You are playing at the highest level and you are one of the best, so that is going to come with the (spotlight).”

FALL FROM GRACE

It seems unfathomable to consider how far Simmons has fallen from a rookie compared to a legend like Magic Johnson to an “afterthought” according to respected NBA scribes.

The 6-foot-10 point guard was destined to be a generational player and one of the NBA’s faces of the league for decades to come.

Simmons missed his entire rookie season after fracturing the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot during a pre-season scrimmage, but followed that up by winning Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 and was named an All-Star in the three seasons that followed.

That led to Simmons – who was a triple-double machine at the time – earning a max contract extension.

He averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists during the 2018-19 season, including 10 triple-doubles.

Simmons joined Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only NBA players with at least 10 triple-doubles in each of their first two seasons.

He also joined Robertson and Johnson, another Hall of Famer, as the only players to record at least 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists through their first 13 playoff games.

In addition to becoming a regular All-Star, he was the runner-up for defensive player of the year in 2021.

SIXERS BLOW-UP

Just when Simmons looked destined for greatness his world literally fell apart after the 76ers’ Game 7 Eastern Conference semi-final loss to the Atlanta Hawks in 2021.

The Aussie guard attempted just four shots, making two, in the defeat that also saw him pass off an open dunk in the closing minutes.

Then Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers was asked post-game if Simmons was capable of being a point guard on a championship-calibre team.

“I don’t know the answer to that right now,” Rivers responded.

Rivers’ comments prompted outrage from Simmons, who refused to report to 76ers camp the following off-season while he told officials he wanted out.

This sparked a five-month standoff between the two parties.

Simmons showed up for two practices but didn’t engage with teammates and was kicked out of the second practice after refusing to participate in a drill.

He was reportedly fined over $29 million for missing the first 54 games of the 2021-22 season and received fines for other disciplinary actions.

Simmons’ tenure in Philadelphia came to an end when he was sent to the Nets in a blockbuster trade for James Harden in February, 2022.

The gifted yet troubled Aussie been dealing with lower-back issues since the 2018-19 season – and while these concerns are real – critics have questioned whether he has displayed the right attitude to perform at his peak.

THE FUTURE

The reality is Simmons finds himself behind Josh Giddey and Russell Westbrook as the best point guards still available in free agency. The New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns reportedly are interested in the 29-year-old former All-Star as they look to add point-guard depth for this season.

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Bolden believes Simmons can defy to outside noise to save his career.

“He is like a punching bag for the media sometimes – maybe because it is a lot of clickbait because it is Ben Simmons,” he said.

“But it is what it is. I think Ben has got to a point where he understands and knows the deal, so it doesn’t really affect him to that degree, but everyone is human and everyone is emotional and things happen.”