Ben Simmons Reportedly Declined Knicks Contract Offer amid NBA Retirement Rumors

Ben Simmons is still without a team as retirement rumors linger, but he reportedly received a contract offer from the New York Knicks this offseason.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday that New York, which can only offer minimum deals at this point, offered a one-year deal to the LSU product. However, Simmons declined the contract.

Stein noted the Boston Celtics also showed interest, although "Simmons entered the summer hopeful of securing a contract above the minimum."

This comes after Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reported the 29-year-old is "questioning" whether he wants to call it a career or continue in free agency.

To say his time in the NBA has been up and down would be quite the understatement.

After all, he looked to be a franchise building block for the Philadelphia 76ers when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft. Even though he missed his first season with injury, he was a three-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Defensive selection during the next four seasons with Philadelphia.

Yet he didn't play in 2021-22 and struggled on the offensive side at times because of a seeming unwillingness to shoot the ball or remain aggressive.

Injuries have also been a major story of his career, as he played 42 games in 2022-23, 15 games in 2023-24 and 51 games in 2024-25. He started last season on the Brooklyn Nets but joined the Los Angeles Clippers after the Eastern Conference team bought out his deal.

It is a safe assumption Simmons is never going to be the player he was at his peak in Philadelphia. At his best, he is someone who could provide depth off the bench and do a little bit of everything as a solid defender, ball-handler and distributor, and the Knicks surely envisioned that when they offered him a one-year deal.

Simmons averaged 5.0 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds last season with Brooklyn and Los Angeles, but that production has not been enough to land a contract he was willing to accept at this point of the offseason.