Ben’s exit gamble was the right call. But his next move is critical for his NBA future

Ben Simmons has reportedly decided on his next NBA stop: the LA Clippers.

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Reports on Sunday morning stated Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets agreed to a contract buyout of his $40 million deal, with the Aussie set to sign with the Clippers once he clears waivers amid interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets.

It’ll mark Simmons’ third NBA team in what’s been a rollercoaster career that began in Philadelphia as the No. 1 overall draft pick back in 2016.

That’s included three All-Star appearances, with Simmons once one of the most damaging players in the NBA and Australia’s clear premier star, culminating in his current five-year, $177 million contract that’s about to expire.

However injuries have badly derailed the 28-year old’s career including a particularly grim run in recent years that meant we never saw him anywhere near his best for Brooklyn — at least not for any sort of sustained period — since he was the centrepiece in that trade for James Harden three years ago.

Simmons will also reunite with fellow Aussie and former Nets teammate Patty Mills, who was traded to the Clippers earlier this month.

So what does Simmons’ LA move mean for his future? And what can we expect from him at the Clippers?

The most important thing to note is that Simmons is set to become a free agent this off-season, so this is all about what’s beyond 2025 amid a particularly important campaign for the 6-foot-10 guard in that he’s showcasing himself to teams and playing for his next NBA contract.

That was unlikely to come with the Nets.

Brooklyn is in tank mode and prioritising its long-term future. In a perfect world, they would’ve traded Simmons ahead of last week’s deadline and gotten something back, but his $40 million deal would’ve clearly been tough to move.

It comes as the Nets very carefully managed Simmons’ minutes and general workload this season. While that capped Simmons’ output, it’s helped him get through the season without suffering any major setbacks, playing 33 of a possible 52 games.

He’s averaged 6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 25 minutes per game.

The Nets were moving into a different direction, while it’s also in Simmons’ best interests to play for a team that can really utilise his talents, ideally a playoff side.

The best thing for Simmons right now is to prove he can still contribute to a winning basketball team – not a team trying to achieve the opposite that could’ve limited him if he was playing too well down the stretch of the season.

For the Clippers, Rockets and Cavaliers to have all had interest in him is already a good sign, and in the case of the latter two — Cleveland specifically — they’re right in the title mix.

Bare in mind the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks or Phoenix Suns literally couldn’t sign him due to being in the first apron under the tighter CBA rules.

Simmons will likely sign a minimum deal with the Clippers, so on their end, it’s a logical, low-risk punt.

We’ve already seen Lonzo Ball overcome fears he may never play again to sign a $20 million extension with Chicago for the next two seasons following a productive return to the court. Things can change quickly in this league, particularly for players with the innate, raw talent Simmons has if his body can hold up.

Simmons is betting on showcasing the best version of himself in the brighter lights of LA instead of wasting away in Brooklyn, where he mightn’t have attracted much more than a minimum deal for next season the way things were heading.

That’s why he likely would’ve given up some portion of his salary with Brooklyn for the greater good.

He probably still won’t get a big free agency deal in the summer — and it almost certainly won’t be anything close to his current deal — with teams more cautious than ever about their spendings in the current CBA climate with apron restrictions. But he at least gets a better chance to increase his market and overall value, and that’s what he’ll be hoping for with this buyout.

In terms of his fit at the Clippers, Simmons is such a unique, Swiss Army knife-type player that there’s not many teams where he wouldn’t have something to offer — from playmaking and defence to general size and line-up flexibility given he can play multiple positions. You could make a case every team could use that, so it’s no surprise some of the best teams in the league were interested in the former Pick 1. It’s just a matter of how much opportunity he’ll get.

Simmons will be able to alleviate some ball handling pressure off Harden and Kawhi Leonard, for outside the two there aren’t many playmakers on the roster.

And while the Clippers have the No. 2 defensive rating in the NBA in a backbone of the 29-23 team’s season, any way they can find ways to improve on their bottom 10 offensive rating would be valuable.

Trade addition Bogdan Bogdanovic will also help in this area and give the Clippers more punch.

Arguably Simmons’ greatest asset at this stage of his career is his passing, and he’ll be feeding one of the league’s best rollers and lob threats in Ivica Zubac, plus Simmons can set up the likes of Harden, Leonard and Norman Powell in their spots.

Despite Paul George’s departure and Leonard missing a key chunk of the start of the season, Tyronn Lue’s team has sat in the top six in the West for the majority of the campaign. But currently seventh, the Clippers are suddenly fighting to just make the play-in in the ultra competitive conference, with the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings not far behind them.

And Golden State and the San Antonio Spurs both got big upgrades in Jimmy Butler and De’Aron Fox respectively to make the West even tougher in the second half of the season.

It’s hard to say how much Simmons will play in Lue’s rotation, likely fighting with the likes of Amir Coffey, Nicholas Batum and Kris Dunn for minutes off the bench. Best case is Simmons might be a seventh man, but he’s more likely eighth or ninth in the pecking order that will play more in certain matchups.

From a bigger picture perspective, Simmons will be playing relevant basketball again on a serious side that wants to win with All-Star talent around him.

The last time that could be said was the 2022/23 season for Brooklyn — a season that ended in chaos when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were both traded at the deadline and Simmons was shut down in late March due to a back injury.

Before that was his final season with Philadelphia in 2020/21, ending in that disappointing second-round playoff loss to Atlanta. Expectations of Simmons have clearly changed since then and his output has diminished significantly.

But this is technically the first time Simmons has been able to choose his path given he was drafted by Philadelphia and traded to Brooklyn.

From that sense, he also needs to take greater responsibility for what he produces on court after injuries and other factors have led to his downfall.

It’s worth highlighting that the Clippers have had success on the buyout market with the likes of Russell Westbrook, Batum and Reggie Jackson.

This is a basketball marriage that, unlike how his last two ended, has the potential to work out given both parties will really benefit from positive basketball from the Aussie. Perhaps above all, you want to see Simmons having fun on the court again.

And just maybe, if Simmons does get truly settled again on the NBA scene once more, it’ll open the door for him to don the green and gold for the first time in over a decade.