Ben Simmons and an NBA return: “He should be paying teams to play”

Ben Simmons’ recent announcement that he hopes to return to the court has reignited debate across the American sports media landscape. The 29-year-old Australian, a three-time NBA All-Star, has been out of action for a year after spending his last season with the Los Angeles Clippers on a veteran minimum contract.

The controversy was sparked by an interview Simmons gave to Men’s Health Magazine, in which he expressed his desire to resume his career and admitted that the Miami Heat would be an appealing destination.

The response from the media was swift. On the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith delivered an extremely harsh assessment of Simmons, calling his NBA career one of the most disappointing the league has ever seen.

I think Ben Simmons is a basketball abomination. He’s the only player I’ve ever seen in NBA history who, in my opinion, should be paying teams to let him play – not the other way around. Calling it a disaster doesn’t even begin to describe it. For years we’ve tiptoed around the issue because we didn’t want to seem insensitive toward someone dealing with mental health challenges, something that has shaped his career and that he’s even joked about himself

Stephen A. Smith

Smith then shifted his focus to the financial side of Simmons’ career, pointing to the contrast between his declining production and the massive contracts he received: $40.3 million earned between the Brooklyn Nets and Clippers, $37.8 million the previous season, and the $12 million in fines imposed by the Philadelphia 76ers during his 2021 holdout.

This is a guy who was literally terrified to attempt a layup in the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. He treated taking a jump shot as if someone had asked him to go fight on the front lines of a war

Stephen A. Smith

According to Smith, the timing of Simmons’ comeback attempt has more to do with the end of his guaranteed paychecks than with any genuine return to competitive form – an approach he believes clashes with the work ethic demanded by a franchise like the Miami Heat under Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra.

The numbers underscore Simmons’ decline, from an elite point forward to a role player who averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists across 51 appearances. Combined with his past contract disputes, extended injury absences, and dramatic loss of confidence as a scorer, those factors make it difficult to identify an NBA team willing to gamble on his short-term resurgence.