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Clippers 2025 Exit Interviews: Ben Simmons
Our exit interview series on the 2025 Clippers continues with Ben Simmons, who the Clippers picked up on the buyout market mid-season.
Basic Information
Height: 6’10
Weight: 240 pounds
Position: Center/Point Guard/Power Forward
Age: 28 (29 in July)
Years in NBA: 9 (played in 7)
Key Regular Season Stats: 2.9 points, 3.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers in 16.4 minutes per game across 18 games played (zero starts) on 43.4/0/85.7 (0 3PA, 0.4 FTA attempts) shooting splits (46.4 True Shooting)
Postseason Stats: 0.8 points, 0.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds, 0.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 0.4 turnovers in 8.4 minutes per game across five games played (zero starts) on 33.3/0 shooting splits (0 3PA, 0 FTA) shooting splits (33.3 True Shooting)
Expectations
When the Clippers signed Ben Simmons to a minimum deal
covering the rest of the season after he was bought out by the Nets post-trade
deadline, expectations were extremely varied. There were some optimists who thought
that putting Ben on a team with structure, talent, and expectations would get
him back at least somewhat close to the realm he was in his prime on the
Sixers. Some, on the pessimistic side, thought he’d be awful and would not
contribute anything positively at all. Most, in the middle, figured he’d
probably be a better backup center than Mo Bamba or Kai Jones but that his
severe on-court limitations would make him unplayable when games got serious in
the playoffs.
Reality
Ben immediately set the bar at a high level, when, in his first game on the team, he logged over 27 minutes and played in crunch time in a win over the Jazz. Ben was just awesome in that game, scoring 12 points on 4-6 shooting, adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and dominating on defense with 3 steals and a block. Honestly, he might have even been better than those numbers. He looked confident on offense, contributed on the boards, and was terrific both switching and helping on defense. The optimists were crowing and the pessimists had eggs on their faces.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. Ben had other positive games for the Clippers, but none were even close to that first outing. He also missed time with a sore knee, sitting out for seven games in early-mid March. When he returned, Kawhi’s minutes restriction was fully gone, and his role was decreased. Still, Ben was in Ty Lue’s nine-man rotation entering the playoffs.
Sadly, Ben’s trend line with the Clippers repeated itself in the playoffs. He gave the Clippers legitimately helpful minutes in the first three games, playing solid defense on Jokic, providing pace on offense, and assisting on the glass. In Games 4 and 5, he was much less effective, as the Nuggets’ ignoring him on offense bogged won the Clippers’ attack to an uncomfortable degree. Ty pulled the plug in the second half of Game 5, and Ben did not play again the last 2.5 games.
Ultimately, for a buyout signing on the minimum, Ben was a fine pickup. He gave the Clippers some useful regular season and even playoff minutes and seemed to be a good locker room fit. If anything, the Clippers’ roster flaws meant pushing Ben into a larger role than he probably should have had, and he could not live up to a rotation spot in the playoffs.
Future with Clippers
It’s crazy to think Ben Simmons is not quite 29, has played
just seven seasons in the NBA (he’s been in the league for nine but didn’t
appear in two of them), has completed a max deal, and might well be out of the
league after this year. All of the reporting out there is that the Clippers won’t
bring Ben back, and honestly, it’s tough to think of teams that would want Ben.
He’s a fine NBA player on a minimum deal, but he’s a uniquely tough fit and it’s
very tough to talk yourself into any real upside at this point. I would guess
that Ben is signed by some team to a minimum contract (Lakers?), but that it
won’t be the Clippers, and they will fill the backup point guard and center
spots with other players.