📉 The Fall of Ben Simmons: From Max Contract to Minimum Deal

The LA Clippers’ 2025 season has come to an end.
Despite facing adversity — with Paul George leaving and Kawhi Leonard missing half the season — the team battled their way to the 5th seed in the West and pushed the defending champion Nuggets to a grueling Game 7 before bowing out.

Now, all eyes turn to the offseason.
And one name quietly hovering in the background is Ben Simmons.

A Max Contract Talent Reduced to a Minimum Salary

Ben Simmons once symbolized NBA potential at its finest.
At 6'10" with elite athleticism, court vision, and defensive instincts, he was an All-Star, All-NBA defender, and a player billed as a franchise cornerstone.

He landed a 5-year, $177 million max contract with the Sixers — but everything unraveled from there.

Injuries, confidence issues, and a game ill-suited for the modern, pace-and-space, perimeter-driven NBA saw Simmons fall from grace.

By this season, his massive deal finally expired.

Brooklyn bought him out, and Simmons joined the Clippers on a veteran minimum contract.
Some fans joked:
"A max contract Simmons is a disaster, but at the minimum, he’s a steal."

But was he really?

Underwhelming Production, Even as a Reserve

This season, Simmons played 51 total games — 33 with the Nets and 18 with the Clippers.

• 📊 With Brooklyn: 6.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.9 APG

• 📊 With LA: 2.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, shooting just 43%

In LA’s playoff run, Simmons appeared in 5 games, averaging:

• 0.8 PPG

• 1.4 RPG

• 0.8 APG

• 33% shooting

His defense remained decent, but his offensive game has virtually disappeared.
No jumper, no attacking ability, limited off-ball impact.

The Harsh Reality: No Way Back to Stardom

At 29 years old, Simmons seems far removed from his All-Star days.
His skillset — reliant on size, passing, and defense — simply doesn’t thrive in today’s spacing-dominated, three-point heavy NBA.

This summer, the only offers he’s likely to receive are for the veteran minimum.

For a player once hailed as the next LeBron-lite, it’s a sobering fall.

From a five-year, $177 million contract to a one-year minimum deal.
Ben Simmons is now a cautionary tale of wasted potential in the modern league.