Within the newest version of the “Stein Line E-newsletter,” the venerable Marc Stein famous how free agent playmaker Ben Simmons has drawn some curiosity from the Celtics, amongst different groups.
“League sources say that the Suns have additionally had some latest dialogue with former All-Star Ben Simmons, who I’m informed has drawn curiosity since free company started from Boston, New York and Sacramento,” Stein reported.
Simmons, 29, is coming off a season that noticed him go well with up for the Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers. Neither crew was in a position to faucet into the model of himself that had him named to back-to-back All-Defensive groups, and ending barely exterior the top-10 of MVP voting in 2021. That model of Simmons is somebody you need in your crew.
This model of Simmons, although?… Nicely, I’m not so positive.
We haven’t seen the dominant model of Simmons since he handed out of that wide-open dunk in opposition to the Atlanta Hawks in 2021. Since then, he’s change into allergic to scoring the rock. His factors per sport throughout that 2021 season sat at 14.3. Since then, he’s by no means cracked 7 factors per sport on a season.
He seems to be scared every time he’s ready to attain.
The dearth of aggression when trying to attain the ball, which is clear within the above clip, has change into a part of the Simmons expertise. When he creates for others, the whole lot is quick, purposeful, and exact. Nevertheless, if the protection shuts down his passing choices, and the duty of scoring falls on his shoulders, issues can get fairly ugly.
You’ll be able to see how little Denver is anxious by Simmons’ presence on the free-throw line prolonged, too. They sag all the best way off him. No assist protection is shipped on his drive. They didn’t see him as a scoring menace, and rightly so.
Right here’s one other instance. Simmons has the dimensions benefit. He created separation from the bump. But, quite than utilizing his footwork to complete proper on the rim, or off the glass, he opts to lean right into a hook shot — ducking official contact — and smokes the shot.
The early-career Simmons would by no means have slowed down on that drive. He would have dropped his shoulder, turned on the jets and compelled his solution to the rim. Pressured himself right into a scoring place.
At 29, he ought to be within the prime of his profession. As a substitute, he’s a strolling case examine of how The Yips can derail a profession.
The numbers inform an identical story, too.
In his rookie season (2017-18), Simmons went 373-of-525 on the rim, giving him a 71% conversion price.
As a sophomore (2018-19), he went 424-of-635 on the rim, giving him a 67% conversion price.
In 2019-20 he went 310-of-457 on the rim — a 68% conversion price.
Then, within the fateful 2020-21 season, he went 237-of-359 on the rim, which is a 66% conversion price.
Positive, Simmons was nonetheless changing at a excessive clip across the rim, however the quantity was turned all the best way down. It went from a pounding baseline to lower than a whisper.
In 2022-23, Simmons went 85-of-124 on the rim — his lowest ever complete of makes an attempt — though his conversion sat sturdy at 69%
Issues continued to slip from there, however so did his variety of video games performed, so it could be disingenuous to issue them in right here.
However, the image couldn’t be clearer: Ben Simmons is just not somebody you add to your roster for a scoring punch.
Not now.
Not this model of himself.
He’s, nevertheless, somebody who creates at a excessive stage and may quarterback an offense as a pass-only playmaker.
Simmons’ worth comes because of his willingness to get the rock out of his fingers at tempo. He boasts stable processing velocity** and is aggressive in getting his teammates the ball.
Again to the Denver sport…Look how shortly Simmons redirects the rock off the offensive board. Now, as quickly because the ball lands in his fingers, it has been swung out to a wide-open shooter within the weakside nook. There wasn’t even a nanosecond the place Simmons considered calling his personal quantity and going for the putback. His thoughts immediately went into pass-the-rock mode.
If the Celtics are in search of somebody to place their scorers in sturdy positions, with out requiring a excessive offensive utilization price from their very own gamers, Simmons may very well be a sensible, low-cost addition.
Joe Mazzulla’s roster is projected to characteristic a number of slashers subsequent season. Jaylen Brown, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez all challenge to be higher getting downhill than engaged on the perimeter — Brown, in fact, can rating from all three ranges, however has checked out his finest within the mid-range and across the cup.
The above clip from Simmons is a transparent instance of how simply he can learn the ground, even when being crowded. His offensive influence, by way of scoring, could also be non-existent at this level, however there’s no denying that he’s nonetheless a invaluable playmaker.
I’m additionally an enormous fan of how Simmons can match his teammates’ tempo. We’ve seen him working at his private tempo with among the clips above, but on this occasion, when Norman Powell is trying to flip the jets on, so he can flip the nook out of the Zoom motion, Simmons is more than pleased to oblige. That’s an indication of an excellent playmaker.
Whenever you’re creating for others, you’ve gotta meet them the place they’re at.
And that brings us on to Simmons’ protection. In any case, that’s what would endear him to Mazzulla and the Celtics teaching employees. If he could be even 70% of the defender he was earlier than reworking into The Yipper, then he could be an impactful member of the rotation — both as a starter or when coming off the bench.
Simmons nonetheless has good defensive instincts. He understands angles, has nice timing, takes satisfaction in his defensive work, and is a dependable helper and weakside rim-protector. In 51 video games final season, he totalled 23 blocks — nothing to write down residence about, however not price ignoring, both.
In fact, Simmons isn’t the defender he as soon as was. Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply he’s not a optimistic contributor on that aspect of the ground. In line with Dunks and Three’s, the 29-year-old offered a +0.6 in DEPM (Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus) final season, that means his crew was +0.6 factors higher on protection per 100 possessions than with out him on the ground.
That quantity means Simmons was barely above league common on protection final season. Nevertheless, simply two seasons earlier, he was amongst among the higher defenders within the NBA, with a +1.4 DEPM. To place this into context, Evan Mobley, the 2025 Defensive Participant of the Yr, had a +3.9 DEPM this season.
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Enjoying for the Celtics, beneath Mazzulla’s unorthodox tutelage, may convey the very best out of Simmons, not less than on the defensive finish. The hope is that he may function in an identical position to what prime Draymond Inexperienced did for the Golden State Warriors: quarterbacking the protection and working as a connector on the offensive finish.
There’s multiple solution to be a extremely impactful member of a rotation. And, whereas Simmons’ offense might by no means get better to his pre-passed-up dunk stage, he can nonetheless end on the rim with the very best of them in transition, and will all the time rediscover the gear that made him such a daunting prospect.
Truthfully, if there was ever a coach to get inside his head and drag the dawg again out of him, it could be Mazzulla. He’s already confirmed that his strategies work, and he managed to get a crew filled with stars all pulling in the identical course whereas leaving egos on the door.
Nevertheless, each Jordi Fernandez and Ty Lue have tried to rehab Simmons and failed, so the Celtics would wish to return into the partnership with low expectations. For me, including him to the rotation can be deemed successful if he helped exchange among the protection the franchise misplaced when Jrue Vacation was shipped to the Portland Path Blazers, and among the halfcourt playmaking that vanished when Jayson Tatum suffered his Achilles damage.
If Simmons may plug each of these gaps, keep wholesome, and discover a solution to change into a 10-point-per-game contributor on stable effectivity, I feel there’s a world the place he could be an essential a part of Boston’s rotation. I additionally wonder if Mazzulla can be the primary coach to attempt operating Simmons within the frontcourt, probably limiting the influence of opposing defenses sagging off him when attacking within the half-court. He may change into a slashing playmaker, thriving in drive-and-dish actions with the dimensions and rebounding chops to fill some official wants.
Many individuals prefer to poke enjoyable at Simmons. He was, in any case, a part of the Sixers’ course of, which, to at the present time, continues to be ongoing and faltering with every passing week. Nevertheless, in the best context, with the best scheme round him, he may nonetheless be a invaluable rotation piece.
If the Celtics can add him on a veteran minimal deal, with a crew choice for a second or third yr, it may very well be a cut price, low-cost, potential high-reward addition to the roster.
Simmons isn’t a horny addition anymore. However, if the Celtics are within the enterprise of taking flyers on guys with upside, then this can be a flyer they need to be greater than keen to check out.
CelticsBlog graciously allowed this text to be cross-posted from my rising “Celtics Chronicle” publication.
** In line with sports activities science, processing velocity is an encapsulation of how shortly a participant can understand info, make the right resolution primarily based on that info and provoke and motion/response.
