Ben Simmons Thinks It's "Disrespectful" That Fans Think He's Robbing NBA Teams

Sarah Stier. Getty Images.

The NBA career of Ben Simmons is fascinating to me. From how the hype that surrounded him when he entered the league, to his early success (ROY, 3x All Star, 2x All Defensive Team, 1x All NBA) to how everything ended in Philly and he became the scapegoat for their underachievement despite the team having the same postseason results since he left, and a certain other guy still being around. The whole Brooklyn fiasco where we simply haven't seen him on the court, all of it fascinates me. It's almost as if one singular decision to not dunk a basketball changed his career forever

I also think that when it comes to Ben Simmons, people have lost their minds a little bit. Remember a few years ago when the dude couldn't even go to the mall to buy candy without some weirdo coming up to him and being an asshole?

Once it became a thing to shit on Simmons on NBA Twitter, there really has been no coming back from it.

I suppose part of that stems from the fact that we always do the same old dance with Simmons every offseason. THIS is the year he's in the best shape of his life. THIS is the year he's going to not be afraid to shoot. THIS is the year he's healthy and going to be a monster on the floor. We literally do it every offseason and it has never once actually been true, especially since he got to BKN.

Instead of just keeping his head down, working on getting healthy, and then proving things on the court, Simmons also adds fuel to the fire with quotes like this

“People make comments saying I’m robbing. No. When I got that contract, I was playing at a super high level. Unfortunately, I had injuries. But for somebody to say that, it’s disrespectful. [But] people can say what they want to say. They’ve got to live with it. At the end of the day it all catches up with you.”

It appears that Simmons is confusing someone who claims he "isn't worth" his deal with those who think he's "robbing" the Nets, and those are two very different things. Anyone who complains that Simmons "isn't worth" his contract is a moron. I certainly wouldn't give him that contract, but that's not the point. You are worth what you have the leverage to negotiate, and at the time of Simmons' max extension, he had the leverage. He had earned the checkmarks on the court to qualify for that type of extension, so that's what he got. Happens all the time.

That is very different from the idea that he's "robbing" the Nets, which is technically kind of true. Yes, injuries are the root of the missed games and that's unfortunate, but that still does not change the fact that Simmons was paid to perform a service, did not perform that service, and still collected his checks. What else do you call that? It's not disrespectful to suggest he's "robbing" the Nets, because that's basically what he's doing. He was paid $100M+ to play just 57 games over the last 3 seasons! It sucks that he got hurt, but it's not as if he decided to give the money back when he wasn't playing right?

Advertisement

To now position yourself in a way that comes off as playing the victim card is partially why I think so many people continue to shit on him. 

The reality of the situation is the 2024-25 NBA season is a pretty important one for both Simmons and the Nets. He's currently in the last year of his guaranteed deal ($40M), and given how brutal this new CBA world is for the NBA's middle class, if he has another down season or can't stay on the court, is it crazy to think he may be out of the NBA altogether after this season? There are rotation players from last season who are currently not on an NBA roster this season, so who would willingly choose to get into the Ben Simmons business if he still isn't productive? 

If you're the Nets and you have no plans of keeping Simmons after this year, do they potentially flip him at the deadline? That $40M number is a little tough to match because that's usually attached to a pretty good player, but if BKN is entering a rebuild stage then letting an asset leave your team for nothing isn't exactly what I would call good team building. 

But yeah, Ben Simmons most definitely has been robbing the Nets since he got there.