- Sixers guard Ben Simmons confirmed on Twitter that he won’t be playing in the FIBA World Cup. He plans to host camps in Australia and train with the national team, but he won’t take part in any games. Simmons expressed an intention to participate in the Olympics next summer.
- The Celtics attempted to work out sign-and-trade deals with the Sixers and Nets for Horford and Irving, respectively, but both teams wanted more draft pick compensation than Boston was comfortable with, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Turning those free agent departures into sign-and-trades might have allowed Boston to retain more cap flexibility or pick up an extra asset or two.
JULY 17: According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), Simmons’ extension would have a different starting salary depending on which level of All-NBA team he makes. Based on the figures Marks provides, it looks like Simmons’ starting salary will be worth the following percentage of the cap:
- All-NBA First Team: 30%
- All-NBA Second Team: 29%
- All-NBA Third Team: 28%
- No All-NBA spot: 25%
We’ve updated the chart at the bottom of this story to reflect the new info from Marks.
JULY 16: Ben Simmons‘ new five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Sixers doesn’t feature any options, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). That means the deal, which starts in 2020/21, will run through the 2024/25 season.
Wojnarowski provides two more interesting details on Simmons’ extension, reporting that the deal includes a 15% trade kicker and has Rose Rule language that would increase the value of the contract if he earns a spot on an All-NBA team next season.
The trade kicker means that Simmons will receive a bonus worth 15% of the remaining money on his deal if he’s dealt. However, that bonus can’t push his cap hit beyond the maximum salary, so it likely won’t matter until the later years of the contract.
The Rose Rule language is more interesting. Typically, a maximum-salary deal for a player with Simmons’ years of NBA experience (less than seven) would start at 25% of the cap. However, the Rose Rule allows a player who makes an All-NBA team to earn a starting salary worth up to 30% of the cap instead.
Teams and players can negotiate a starting salary between 25-30% if the player achieves certain performance criteria. For instance, Devin Booker‘s maximum-salary contract with the Suns this season would have started at 27.5% of the cap if he’d been named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2019, 28.5% if he was named to the Second Team, and 30% for a First Team nod.
Here’s what Simmons’ next contract will look like, based on the NBA’s current cap projections for 2020/21:
| Year | No All-NBA (25%) | 3rd Team (28%) | 2nd Team (29%) | 1st Team (30%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ’20/21 | $29,250,000 | $32,760,000 | $33,930,000 | $35,100,000 |
| ’21/22 | $31,590,000 | $35,380,800 | $36,644,400 | $37,908,000 |
| ’22/23 | $33,930,000 | $38,001,600 | $39,358,800 | $40,716,000 |
| ’23/24 | $36,270,000 | $40,622,400 | $42,073,200 | $43,524,000 |
| ’24/25 | $38,610,000 | $43,243,200 | $44,787,600 | $46,332,000 |
| Total | $169,650,000 | $190,008,000 | $196,794,000 | $203,580,000 |
Ben Simmons‘ near-$170MM extension with the Sixers may sound like an exorbitant amount for the 22-year-old, but Derek Bodner of The Athletic argue that the deal could turn into a bargain.
The point guard still needs to further develop his jumper to become great, Bodner cautions. However, Simmons has all the tools to easily become a top-10 talent for the Sixers and should that happen, he would be severely underpaid.
JULY 16: The Sixers have officially signed Simmons to his new extension, the team announced today in a press release.
“Ben Simmons is an important piece of our core and he is one of the NBA’s most dynamic and talented young players,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “It was a priority for our organization that we finalize a contract extension with Ben this summer. He was Rookie of the Year in his first season, an All-Star in his second and we expect him to continue grow and succeed for seasons to come. Ben positively impacts the game in so many ways and we look forward to continuing our championship pursuits with him as one of our leaders.”
JULY 15: The Sixers and Ben Simmons have reached a deal on a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension, agent Rich Paul tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The agreement had been anticipated after Philadelphia put a max extension offer on the table for Simmons near the start of free agency.
Based on the NBA’s current cap projections for 2020/21, which is when Simmons’ new deal will begin, a five-year, maximum-salary contract will pay him $169.65MM.
The Sixers and Simmons could agree to language that would push that figure as high as $203.58MM in the event that he earns an All-NBA spot next season, but there’s no indication yet that those Rose Rule conditions will be included in the agreement. For what it’s worth, Charania pegs the value of the contract at $170MM.
Simmons, who will turn 23 on Saturday, has established himself as one of the NBA’s most dynamic young play-makers since being selected first overall in the 2016 draft. After missing his rookie season for health reasons, he has averaged 16.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.9 APG, and 1.6 SPG in 160 regular season contests for Philadelphia over the last two years.
While Simmons is one of the league’s most dangerous creators in transition and can go off for a triple-double on any given night, the Sixers will be looking for him to expand his half-court game and to add a more consistent jump shot to his repertoire going forward.
With a lucrative new deal for Simmons hitting their books in 2020/21, the Sixers will have to take their long-term luxury tax outlook into account when making roster moves. Having made major financial commitments to Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford too, Philadelphia already projects to be $6MM+ over the tax line for ’20/21 with only 11 players under contract so far, tweets Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights.
Siegel also observes (via Twitter) that Simmons and Embiid are both now “designated rookies” for the Sixers, having signed five-year extensions before their rookie contracts expired.
An NBA team is permitted to have up to two designated rookies on its roster at a time (including no more than one via trade), so the Sixers wouldn’t be able to add a third until Embiid’s contract expires in 2023, unless they trade away Simmons or Embiid. It’s the same rule that prevented the Celtics from acquiring Anthony Davis last season while they were carrying Kyrie Irving.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ben Simmons has agreed to a max extension with the Sixers which will reportedly pay the point guard $170MM over five seasons, beginning with the 2020/21 campaign.
There’s no doubt that Simmons is one of game’s best passers. His creativity and court vision, along with his size, make him one of the most unique players in the league. He’s also one of the league’s best rebounding guards and puts steady pressure on defenses with his ability to get to the rim. His size, quickness and length also make him an effective and versatile defender.
For all of his gifts, Simmons is also one of the most limited offensive players you’ll ever see. It’s almost unfathomable the way the game is currently played that he’s never made a 3-pointer in his career. He has no mid-range game, either. Virtually all of his shot attempts come within 10 feet of the basket.
When he does shoot beyond 10 feet, he’s doing the opponent a favor. Last year, he made 25.7% of his shot attempts from 1o-15 feet and 10.7% from 16 feet and out, according to Basketball Reference. He’s also a poor free throw shooter — 60% last season.
Despite those obvious weaknesses, he still averaged 17.8 PPG in his second year. And he’s got plenty of time to expand his offensive game. Simmons turns 23 this week and will undoubtedly get better with age.
However, Simmons’ deficiencies are magnified in the postseason and that could hinder the Sixers’ championship aspirations in future years. He averaged just 13.9 PPG and 6.0 APG during Philadelphia’s playoff run last season, which won’t cut it for a max player.
Still, superior young talent is tough to find and the Sixers probably couldn’t risk offering Simmons less without alienating him.
That leads us to our question of the day: Did the Sixers make the right move by giving Ben Simmons a max extension?
Please take to the comments to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
- Tobias Harris has a trade bonus in his five-year contract with the Sixers, according to Siegel (Twitter link). That bonus will be worth either $5MM or 5% of the remaining money left on his contract (whichever is lesser). The bonus can’t exceed Harris’ maximum salary.
- Veteran center Al Horford broke the hearts of Celtics fans by choosing to sign a four-year, $109MM deal with the Sixers in free agency. “It feels right,” Horford said while wearing his new jersey in a video posted to the team’s social media this week. Horford will help make up a deadly 76ers frontcourt that includes the likes of Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid.
Don’t expect to see Ben Simmons at the FIBA World Cup, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, tells Woj that Simmons is “doubtful” to suit up for Australia, preferring to spend the summer concentrating on the upcoming NBA season.
Simmons, who was born in Melbourne, also pulled out of the 2016 Olympics so he could prepare for his rookie year. He began representing his home nation in international tournaments in 2012 when he was 15, but was cut from Australia’s World Cup team two years later. One of the NBA’s top young stars, Simmons is currently mulling over a five-year, $170MM extension offer from the Sixers.
There’s more today out of Philadelphia:
- Even though Jimmy Butler‘s stay with the Sixers was short, GM Elton Brand doesn’t regret the trade that brought him from Minnesota, relays Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Philly sent Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a second-round pick in 2022 to get Butler for what turned out to be 55 games. “When we went into it last year, it was hopefully Jimmy found a great fit and hopefully we did also,” Brand said. “I’d make that trade again. He gave us a great playoff run last year.”
- After re-signing for $180MM over the next five years, Tobias Harris has become much more important to the Sixers’ future, Bontemps observes in the same story. Harris often found himself as the fourth or fifth option on offense after being acquired from the Clippers in a mid-season trade, but with Butler and J.J. Redick both gone, the team will rely on Harris to provide more scoring. “I can come into next year with that kind of energy, that kind of fire to improve my game and show different parts of my game, too,” Harris said. “Obviously I’ll have the ball in my hands in more different situations and I’m ready for that. I’ve been working out all summer to get ready for that.”
- Former Celtic Al Horford didn’t expect the Sixers to be among his suitors in free agency, writes Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. He said negotiations with Philadelphia “escalated very, very quickly” once teams were officially allowed to talk to players. “When Elton called and spoke with my agent, he laid down this offer,” Horford recalled. “I was very surprised there was that strong interest for me being here. It made the decision very easy. I’m just excited to be a part of this.”
- Siegel and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links) provide the interesting details on the fourth year of Al Horford‘s contract with the Sixers. Currently, Horford’s $26.5MM salary for that season is only partially guaranteed for $14.5MM. However, that guarantee jumps to $19.5MM if Philadelphia makes the NBA Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022. It would become fully guaranteed if the 76ers win a title in one of those seasons.