Ben Simmons is undergoing a career crisis at the moment. Now that he’s unfit for the Nets in the playoffs, rumors are swirling about him signing in China.
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Getting an underwhelming top-6 pick really seems like some sort of a sports curse for the Philadelphia 76ers. They began their tanking in the 2013-14 season and endured 4 terrible seasons to stockpile draft picks.
However, the only one of their top picks to actually pan out has been Joel Embiid – this year’s likely MVP. On the other hand, the likes of Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor have all underachieved.
The precipitous decline of Ben Simmons was a disaster waiting to happen for most NBA fanatics. His complete lack of shooting range as a rookie had already rung warning bells – especially after a 1-point game in the playoffs.
Despite his improvements as a defender over his next 3 seasons, his offense regressed significantly. He also became a complete non-factor due to his unwillingness to attack the rim – because of his terrible free throw shooting.
Simmons turned in an injury-plagued 2022-23 campaign for the Nets after not playing last season. His back injuries have obviously taxed him a lot undoubtedly. But he’s enough of a freak athlete to have made it work – if only he had the mentality to do so.
Is Ben Simmons signing with the Shanghai Sharks?
A tweet by a popular NBA Twitter satire account caused a lot of people to Google rumors about Simmons. One of their tweets was about Simmons’ deal with the Shanghai Sharks falling through due to match-fixing allegations.
Incidentally, former NBA stars Michael Beasley and Eric Bledsoe currently play for the Sharks. The team has actually been disqualified for fixing a playoff game in the CBA.
However, a casual surf through the NBA news releases confirms that this is not the case. Simmons is contracted with the Brooklyn Nets for 2 more years following this season.
The Nets have stated that they have shut Simmons down for the season to allow him to recuperate. Simmons has not been in NBA action for nearly 2 months now.
What are the terms of Simmons’ contract and how long does it last?
Ben Simmons’ max contract was signed in 2020 and is worth a total of $177.2 million over five years. This means that Simmons will earn an average annual salary of $35.4 million until 2025.
The contract is structured as a guaranteed contract, which means that Simmons is guaranteed to receive the full amount of money over the duration of the contract, regardless of his performance on the court.
However, the contract includes various incentives and bonuses that can increase Simmons’ earnings if he meets certain performance criteria. But he’s definitely out of All-NBA form at the moment.
