Sixers Offer Ben Simmons Max Contract
The Philadelphia 76ers are on a path to lock up their core for the coming years. Joel Embiid is under contract through the 2022-23 season. Tobias Harris just inked a five-year, $180 million deal. Up next? Ben Simmons.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers have formally offered Simmons that max contract, worth $170 million over five seasons.
Under new salary cap projections, Ben Simmons’ maximum contract total has crept slightly higher: $170M. http://t.co/44s3FLz1rf
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2019
At the beginning of free agency, one of the first reports out of Sixers camp was that they were working on a max extension with Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul. This may have been a hint towards Jimmy Bulter’s departure, too. With both Simmons and Butler being ball-dominant, the two may have had issues co-existing long-term.
The Sixers have until October to sign Simmons to his rookie scale max extension. Wojnarowski reports that Sixers general manager Elton Brand and Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, have a shared expectation that the deal will get done before then.
Although Simmons still has holes in his game, he has shown elite skills over his first two seasons in the league. In 160 career games, he’s posted averages of 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. This past season, the native of Melbourne, Australia, earned his first All-Star Game selection.
The 6-foot-10 former first-round pick showed a big improvement defensively during the 2018-19. He did a strong job guarding Kawhi Leonard, but still had some problems with his half court game.
If Ben Simmons finds a way to add a serviceable jumper to his game and combine that with aggression to get to the line more, he’ll be even better than he is now.
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