The Philadelphia 76ers may have some changes on tap, but one of them will reportedly not be at point guard.
All-Star guard Ben Simmons has been offered a five-year contract extension by the team, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The Sixers and Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, are expected to work through the details and eventually reach an agreement, Wojnarowski also reports.
Philadelphia has offered a five-year, $168M maximum contract extension to Ben Simmons and the Sixers and agent Rich Paul are expected to work through the details toward an eventual agreement, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2019
Under new salary cap projections, Ben Simmons' maximum contract total has crept slightly higher: $170M. https://t.co/44s3FLz1rf
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2019
Philadelphia has been busy in the offseason since the free-agent negotiating period opened Sunday night. They reportedly reached an agreement with All-Star center Al Horford on a four-year, $109 million deal. In addition, the team also reportedly reached an agreement with forward Tobias Harris on a five-year, $180 million deal.
Yesterday, the Sixers reportedly agreed to a four-team, sign-and-trade deal involving guard Jimmy Butler that will net the Sixers Josh Richardson from the Miami Heat. The Sixers also will be losing sharpshooter JJ Redick next season, who reportedly agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Simmons, the Kia Rookie of the Year winner in 2017-18, turned in his first All-Star season with the Sixers in 2018-19. He averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 34.2 minutes per game as Philadelphia reached the Eastern Conference semifinals. He increased both his offensive and defensive rebounding percentage to 6.2 and 17.9, respectively, and ranked eighth overall (among players who logged 25-plus minutes in 50-plus games) with a 34.1 assist percentage.
With All-Star center Joel Embiid also in tow, the Sixers had a star-studded lineup even before Horford came aboard. However, there is still work to be done by Simmons as his lack of shooting touch became a talking point in the 2019 playoffs. Defenses sagged on Simmons daring him to shoot because the speedy All-Star can’t do much outside the paint. Simmons is 0 for 17 from 3-point range in two seasons and the ability to expand his game is needed as much as a healthy Embiid.
Simmons said in May that he plans to play for Australia in the FIBA World Cup.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
