Simmons refuses the basic salary? As for the strength shown by Simmons, the basic salary is probably not as good as the team.

On July 9, Ben Simmons' recent contract dispute has become one of the most dramatic topics in the NBA offseason. The fall trajectory of this 2016 No. 1 pick from "Mr. Billion" to "No one cared about" reflects the cruel survival rules of professional sports. When ESPN reporters revealed that Simmons' team refused the basic salary quotes provided by multiple teams, the reaction of the league insider was quite interesting - an anonymous executive of the Philadelphia 76ers said bluntly: "It's like seeing someone refuse to receive relief food, but claiming that he is tired of eating at the Michelin restaurant. "

The data of a cliff-like decline in competitive state is shocking. During the Nets last season, Simmons averaged 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, and his shooting percentage of 58.1% seems acceptable, but after a closer look, he will find that he averaged only 5.6 shots per game, and his real shooting percentage was 56.3%, ranking 234th in the league. What's even more fatal is that when he was on the court, the team netted 4.3 points per 100 games, a figure that fell into the negative range for the first time in his seven-year career. A Western Conference scout summarized its current situation using "triple disability": "No shooting (three-point shooting percentage is 14.7% in career), no end (the shooting percentage in the penalty area has been less than 55% for three consecutive years), and no spirit (never scored 20+ in a single game after 2022). "

The collapse of the psychological defense line is more worrying than technical defects. The series against the Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals became a turning point. At that time, his choice of passes at an open position was publicly accused by Embiid, and then a series of farces such as refusing to train and lying to report back injuries. Sports psychologist Davis analyzed: "Posttraumatic stress disorder is fully reflected in him. Now his muscle memory is not how to score when he catches the ball, but how to avoid becoming the focus. "This psychological shadow directly leads to a plunge in the value of his game. According to Second Spectrum, its breakthrough pass efficiency has dropped from the top 10% of the league in 2018 to the bottom 22%. There are signs of collapse of the market valuation system. In the 2023 deal negotiation between the Nets and the Mavericks, the other party was only willing to bid for a second round pick + a junk contract; before the 2024 transaction deadline, the teams trying to take over Simmons require at least two first round picks as compensation. Salary expert Bobby Max has calculated the account: "Based on current output, his actual value should be 30% of the middle class special case (about 12 million), but considering the toxicity of the locker room, the basic salary is gambling. "It is worth noting that after the news of refusing the basic salary quote was exposed, six teams in the league publicly stated that "never considered contact". This collective separation of relations is extremely rare in the free market.

The dislocation of technical defects and the demand of the times accelerates its depreciation. The demand for space forwards in the Hyundai NBA has reached a historical peak. In the 2023-24 season, each team averaged 34.7 three-point shots per game, a 42% increase from the Simmons rookie year. But ironically, his career three-point shooting totaled only 34 times, 89 less than Curry's average three-point shooting in a single season. A general manager of the Eastern Conference bluntly said: "Give him a basic salary is like giving a 4K source for a black and white TV - no matter how good the content is, it cannot be displayed. "What's more serious is that the 28-year-old golden age should be at its peak, but his athletic ability has shown signs of deterioration. In 2024, his conversion offensive scoring rate is only 15% of the league's players, a 37 percentage point decrease compared to the rookie year.

The potential next home has an unusual reality. Championship teams such as the Celtics and the Nuggets lack interest in them because the value of locker room chemistry far exceeds their on-field contributions; rebuilding teams such as the Pistons and Hornets are worried that their professional attitudes will poison young players. The only one that may take over or be a rich team like the Clippers that urgently need a ball handler, but the premise is to accept an unsecured contract + strict appearance terms. On the client list of famous agent Ritchie Paul, Simmons has become the most difficult case. Sources revealed that his team is considering overseas league options, but the CBA and European giants are both cautious about foreign players who "need to ball but do not score points."

is even more sad compared to the situation of the top scorer in the same period. The 2017 Fultz transformed into a qualified rotation after experiencing a strange disease. The 2018 Ayton received a four-year contract renewal of 133 million yuan, but Simmons became synonymous with "opening high and closing low". In the long river of NBA history, from Oscar Robertson to Magic Johnson, the ball-handling forward over 6-foot-10 should have written a legend, but now he is more likely to be included in the "most-most pick" discussion list. A retired celebrity commented to the point: "Reject the basic salary? What he should worry about is whether he can still receive a formal contract. "

The cruel laws of professional sports are fully demonstrated here. When the Simmons team was still calculating the contract amount, the league had made a judgment with actions - its win contribution (WS) plunged from 8.1 in rookie year to 0.7 last season, a figure that was even lower than most two-way contract players, according to Cleaning The Glass data. Perhaps as the boss of a certain team said privately: "This is not a salary issue, but a question of whether he is qualified to continue to stay in the NBA." With the salary cap for the 2025-26 season expected to exceed $170 million, the basic salary contract will rise to around $2.8 million. This insignificant investment in the team has become the last touchstone to test the market value of Simmons.