You could see it coming even before the season wrapped – Ben Simmons’ time with the Clippers was always going to be short-lived. Signed in February 2025 after the Nets cut ties, his arrival in Los Angeles felt less like a fresh chapter and more like a stopgap measure. He logged 51 games and earned 24 starts, showing glimpses of his court vision but never truly shifting the needle. Five points, five boards, five assists a night, numbers that spoke more to utility than revival.

After all, this is the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft that we are talking about. Once seen as an elite defender who needed to work on his offensive game, Simmons has been reduced to an unwilling passenger in recent years. By the time the playoffs ended, the conversations around Simmons had already shifted f

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