177 million in 5 years! 2.9 million in 1 year! From the top scorer to the bottom salary man, he will not lose his job!

In the 2025 offseason, the NBA staged a sad salary diving show. Simmons, who signed a five-year maximum salary contract of 177 million six years ago, has now fallen into an embarrassing situation of a veteran's basic salary (estimated to be 2.9 million), becoming a "cheap lottery" in the eyes of many strong teams. The salary curve of the 2016 No. 1 pick can be said to be a cliff-like decline: the 2020-21 season can still receive $30.56 million (76ers period), the 2023-24 season still enjoys a high salary of 37.89 million (Nets period), and the 2024-25 season has even hit a magical combination of 39.25 million (Nets) and 750,000 (Clippers). In just five years, the dramatic transformation from a maximum-paid superstar to a minimum-paid substitute, what kind of life experience has this former defensive hero stood at the crossroads of his career.

In the NBA draft in 2016, Simmons was spotted by the 76ers as the No. 1 pick. He was elected as the Rookie of the Year in 2018, was selected as the NBA All-Star lineup from 2019 to 2021, and was selected as the first team of the NBA's best defending lineup from 2020 to 2021. According to official NBA statistics, Simmons has won 24 triple-doubles in the first three seasons of his career, tied Grant Hill and ranked third in history. He is full of energy. However, the career of such a genius who debuted at the peak has ushered in a turning point in 2021.

What happened is this: In the 2020-2021 Eastern Conference semi-finals, 76ers lost to their opponents 3-4 to the Eastern Conference finals, and the 76ers lost to their opponents three home games in B07, which ended in failure. This result inevitably made the team humiliated. Afterwards, the team's senior management was furious, and the coach and the players also shirked the blame. In the end, the team's second in command, Simmons, believed that Simmons missed the scoring opportunity to lose the key game. After this incident, the conflict between Simmons and the team gradually became more and more intense. Simmons even refused to participate in all pre-season and regular season games of the team that season on the grounds of poor spirits. In the end, the team could not bear to limit him by violating the contract and hiding his salary and other means and eventually traded him to Blue Net. After switching to the Nets, Simmons revealed that he suffered serious psychological trauma when he was in the 76ers, and suffered from hamstring strains, knee injuries and back nerve problems, so he frequently missed the three seasons of 2021-2024 (but the outside world does not think so, and believes that the purpose of doing this is to force Blue Net to help him get his salary back when he gets back). According to statistics, in the 2022-23 season, Simmons played only 42 games for the Nets, averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The data of 26.3 minutes per game fell to the bottom of his career. The data in 2024 further declined to 6.1 points and 5.7 assists. Based on Simmons' performance, the Nets finally chose to buy out their remaining contract of 37.2 million in February 2025. After joining the Clippers, he still struggled, with an average of only 5.0+4.7+5.6 per game.

As head coach Johnny Jones said: "He has top basketball IQ and organizational skills, but his mentality has become the biggest shackle that restricts his development." I have to sigh that Simmons got a good hand at the beginning and was beaten to pieces by himself. His experience also warned us: talent and body may allow you to reach the top, but only strong psychological quality and positive attitude can keep you there. His path to redemption may have just begun.

Although Simmons is currently in a sluggish state, he still has unique value: 1. He is ranked second in the 2021 Best Defensive Player of the Year and has the scarce ability to switch defenses at 1-5 positions. 2. Average of 6.9 assists in his career, and his fast break promotion is still the top in the league. Some teams can actually be introduced, for example, the Nuggets can allow him to act as a substitute organization + second-team defense, joining the Celtics can help White strengthen the team's defense, and joining the Suns can reduce Booker's organizational pressure. Finally, you need to get a vaccination: Don’t have too high expectations for him in a short period of time, his recovery is a process.

Simmons, 28, is still in his year of playing. There are many examples in NBA history who are similar to him but make a comeback. Howard, the former league's number one center, helped the Lakers win the championship in 2020 after experiencing a cliff-like decline from maximum salary to basic salary; Ross, from the youngest MVP to a basic salary player, eventually transformed into the best sixth man candidate, and rejuvenated in the Knicks. What is placed in front of Simmons now is not only an ordinary survival contract choice, but also a career redemption opportunity. Dear fans, what do you think? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to express your opinions.