It s said that Simmons free market is cold, and the NBA s prospects are unclear

Former NBA No. 1 pick and All-Star player Ben Simmons is now facing the most severe crisis of his career - the free market has opened for two weeks, and he has not even received a basic salary contract. The 28-year-old "genius control forward" signed a five-year maximum salary contract of 177 million in 2019, but now it has fallen to the point where no one cares about it, and his NBA career may end here.

According to Clippers reporter Law Murray, Simmons hopes to get a contract that is higher than the base salary, but the reality is cruel - no team is willing to take the risk of signing him. Although the Raptors, Knicks and Suns had an affair with him, none of these teams finally made a formal offer.

An NBA executive said bluntly: "Watching Simmons' performance in the past four years, any general manager will shake his head."

Simmons's death is astonishing. In the past four seasons, he has played only 108 games, but has earned $147.5 million, equivalent to earning over $1.3 million per game. Specifically:

2021-22 season: reimbursement, 0 appearances, income of 34 million

2022-23 season: 42 games, average of 6.9+6.3+6.1

2023-24 season: 15 games, average of 6.1+7.9+5.7

2024-25 season: 51 games, average of 5.0+4.7+5.6

After being bought out by the Nets last season, he joined the Clippers with a basic salary, but his performance was still bad-5 games in the playoffs, averaging 0.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game, and a shooting percentage of 33.3%, completely becoming a marginalist.

The No. 1 pick in 2016, was selected as the All-Star three times in the first four years of his career. He was 2.08 meters tall but had point guard skills. He was once known as the "contemporary magician".

However, the "refusal to shoot" against the Hawks in the 2021 playoffs became a turning point. He then had a fall in love with the 76ers and was traded to the Nets, followed by back injury, psychological problems, long absence, and eventually completely fell from the altar.

Now Simmons has no three-pointers, no mid-range shots, breakthrough deterioration, and free throws. He is completely empty in positional battles, becoming a burden on the team's offensive end. Even though he can occasionally contribute assists and defense, his attendance (only 108 games in the past four years) and game attitude have discouraged all teams.

Simmons' tragedy, injuries are only part of it, and mentality is a fatal injury. He has never really improved his shooting ability, and was even revealed to be "slack as a retired old man" during training.

Simmons is only one step away from unemployment. If no one cares before the start of the new season, he could become one of the youngest "retired maximum-paid players" in NBA history.

From a stunning rookie to an abandoned son who is unwilling to be accused of, Simmons' story confirms the truth: talent determines the upper limit, and attitude determines the lower limit.