There was once upon a time when Ben Simmons was one of the brightest young stars in the NBA, and when the Golden State Warriors may have considered giving up legitimate assets to trade for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Now Simmons' NBA career is on the brink of being over. However you want to slice that, it would be a heartbreaking end to someone who promised so much. Still, there might be little sympathy for Simmons who's now looking for his third agent in the past year and who reportedly turned down a minimum contract offer from the New York Knicks according to Marc Stein on Monday.
Warriors are the only team that can save Ben Simmons
Going from a max-level player following your rookie extension to a minimum contract afterwards isn't the easiest thing to accept, and is something the 29-year-old may not have come to terms with as he searches for his next move.
"New York is limited to minimum contract offers as training camps draw near and Simmons entered the summer hopeful of securing a contract above the minimum after he split last season between the Nets and Clippers," Stein said.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reported last week that Simmons is weighing up if he even wants to continue playing, with the idea of retirement perhaps more shocking than him simply not getting a contract entering the season.
If Simmons would prefer to stop playing over taking a minimum contract, then the Warriors might be the only team that can actually save the fallen star at this point. There's been little recent reports of Golden State having interest in the point forward, but Brett Siegel of Clutch Points did mention Simmons as a name to watch in relation to the franchise earlier in free agency.
Should Jonathan Kuminga accept the $7.9 million qualifying offer as many around the league are now expecting, the Warriors could open up the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use on their remaining free agent targets.
Were that to include Simmons, then perhaps they could grant his wish and offer something slightly above the minimum. That's not to say they would or that Simmons even deserves it, but it could become an option that the Knicks and many rival teams simply don't have available at this point of the offseason.
Simmons averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 51 combined games with the Nets and Clippers last season, having previously been a 3x All-Star, 2x All-Defensive First Team member, Rookie of the Year and even finishing 12th in MVP four years ago.