Deep into the 2025 NBA Offseason, 2017 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and 2016 No. 1 pick Ben Simmons are the two stars that remain unsigned.
In the former’s case, the Sacramento Kings stick out as his most feasible future team. Yet, he’s five years removed from his last All-Star season and retirement could be on the horizon. Simmons, who is said to be considering signing out rather than signing up for another season, is in a similar situation. However, a few teams have expressed interest in Simmons this summer (the Kings, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and quite possibly the Toronto Raptors). A handful of teams (Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets) made overtures towards him following his buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets.
Should Knicks Shed Salary To Sign Star Free Agent Ben Simmons?
Simmons’s issue isn’t so much that he’s on the outs as he doesn’t see himself as a minimum-salary player. Frankly, his desire to attract more lucrative offers may have played a part in him parting ways with agent Bernie Lee. With that being said, Simmons would already be employed by an NBA team if he was willing to take a significant pay cut.
The New York Knicks have offered him a one-year contract, which he rejected, per The Stein Line insider Marc Stein. Handcuffed by the restrictive CBA, the most they could offer the three-time All-Star is the veteran’s minimum.
Keep in mind, the veteran’s minimum salary is scaled by experience level rather than a flat rate. Credited with seven years of NBA service, Simmons would earn about $3.1 million on a minimum contract. For most people, that’s a pretty chunk of change. However, Simmons has never made less than $5.9 million in any season of his career. So, he might see getting paid millions to play basketball as a blessing in general. Still, he understandably isn’t jumping for joy at the prospects of making less than ever.
With that being said, if the Knicks were willing to shed some salary, they could offer Simmons more money. At present, New York is hard-capped at the second apron and prohibited from exceeding $207,824,000 in team salary after signing Guerschon Yabusele with the taxpayers mid-level exception offseason.
One Simple Question
Relative to how well he played at his peak, Simmons may be perceived as a minimum-salary player. Compared to the rest of the playing field though, that may not be the case. So many people pay attention to how much a player scores that they end up devaluing defense, rebounding and playmaking.
Obviously, Simmons is by no means a perfect player. Like every other player, he never has been. Nevertheless, he still can offer a lot to teams, especially as a fluid 6-foot-10 athlete.
All in all, figuring out Simmons’s exact value is rife with complexities. Yet, the Knicks don’t have to think on that grand of a scale to answer one simple question.
Is Simmons more valuable to them than either Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet, who they drafted in 2024? On rookie scale contracts, they aren’t getting paid like movie stars. Kolek will make $2.2 million next season and Dadiet will make $2.8 million. Yet, if New York trades one of them, they can basically double their contract offer to Simmons. If they trade both, they’ll be able to triple it.
Of course, they would be wise to secure a draft pick in either transaction. Though unproven at the NBA level, Kolek and Dadiet could become rotation-level players down the line. Nevertheless, the idea that a title-contender would value unseasoned projects over a flawed but established veteran is hard to reconcile.
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