On one side of the ledger, we have a 30-year-old who never averaged more than nine points a game, has been on multiple two-way deals, and has only started 58 games in eight seasons.
On the other is a 29-year-old three-time All-Star, All-NBA, and Rookie of the Year who once also led the league in steals and got strong consideration for Defensive Player of the Year. He had one season of nearly 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists per game as part of what looked like a potential championship core.
So why is it that the first guy just got a $40 million contract while the second is still available heading into August?
It's hard to imagine a fall quite like Ben Simmons has had. He went from a phenom at point guard; a 6-foot-10 ball handler who could break teams down and set up his teammates. But as the league moved deeper and deeper behind the 3-point line, Simmons' confidence sank deeper and deeper into the abyss. He’s been a joke for years, even once used as a punch line by Jaylen Brown when he was mocking Grant Williams for going oh-for-everything for a month.
Sure, Simmons is still drawing some interest in the NBA, but no team in the league wants what Simmons has become. In fact, no team in the league even expects him to be what he once was. No, the best thing Simmons can do for his career is to become that first guy.
He needs to become Luke Kornet.
I’m not the first person to suggest Simmons play center. That notion has been out there for a while as people try to decipher his mental puzzle and get him to be productive again. Front office folk, like Brad Stevens, are looking to make a big score on a cheap contract by being the team that finally gets Simmons to realize where he is in life.
Stevens in particular could solve a major problem with a minor contract if he could convince Simmons that a shift to the five spot would be in everyone’s best interest. Kornet is the way to do it.
Simmons has made plenty of money in life. Spotrac lists his career earnings at $203,356,689, which is more than enough to live on quite comfortably for the rest of time. This cushion of cash, presuming he hasn’t Antoine Walker’ed it away, is the biggest obstacle to this whole argument.
Simmons can either argue that he’s made the gross GDP of a small island country playing a certain way, so there's no reason to change it. Or he could argue that he’s made enough money for life, so there's no need to do all the work necessary to change it. If his mind is stuck there, then the rest of this doesn’t matter.
But I have also been around a lot of professional athletes in my time, and very few have blown off the chance to make tens of millions of dollars, no matter what they have already pocketed. Simmons actually has a chance to add Kornet money to his bank account, maybe more.
It’s a wild twist, but life in the NBA, or even in general, is full of Michael Scott “how the turn tables” moments. There is a comedic element to even considering this argument when you think about what kind of tools each of these guys has. But the facts are the facts. One guy just got $40 million to do something and another guy capable of doing that same thing and more is sitting here waiting for minimum contracts.
Picture Simmons on a short roll after setting a pick for Jaylen Brown, getting the ball around the free throw line with a live dribble and shooters in the corners. That's a place Simmons could finish, draw fouls, or rack up assists.
Picture Simmons running dribble handoffs with Derrick White, then faking one and driving against an out-of-position defense.
Picture him in the dunker spot on a Brown drive, either there for a dump-off or going up for an offensive rebound.
If he was willing, he could do all of the Kornet stuff in Boston’s offense, but with supercharged potential for stronger finishes and cleaner looks for teammates.
Defensively, he could help alleviate some of Boston’s very obvious issues by adding a long, switchable element into the mix. Suddenly, a Simmons, Brown, and White trio switching everything can help deter a lot of drives. Boston could try to turn some games into shooting contests, which would be the lesser of two evils, but it would still be better than they have. He’s a career 7.4 rebound per game guy, so he could still get in there and grab some boards, but then he could lead breaks instead of just outletting and trailing.
If life was like 2K, then you could just plug Simmons into the center spot and move on. In 2025, teams have to make the hard sell, and Simmons would have to fully buy in. This is a complete change in play style, and even if Simmons is open to it, he would have to get used to it.
Learning a new position isn’t easy. He would make mistakes, which would frustrate him. And we know how he’s handled frustrations in the past. He would miss assignments and foul people. He would get fouled and hate to shoot free throws. Even, after all this, he said “yes, I’m all in,” there's no guarantee that it would work.
But that's what makes this season, in this situation, the one-time, perfect opportunity for Simmons and a team to give it a shot.
Simmons isn’t getting much heat on the free agent market, so if he can make this work, then there's a chance to make some money. If it bombs, then everyone knows not to try it anymore and he can go back to bouncing around the league on minimum deals to be a ball handler off the bench.
The Celtics aren’t exactly building a contender this season, so if a wild swing on something doesn’t pan out, so be it. This would all be happening on a minimum contract, so there's no real risk. At the same time, I believe in Joe Mazzulla’s ability to connect with players to get them to do things they didn’t think they could.
Stevens is spending this season as a junk artist in residence. He’s trying to make a work of art out of old carburetors, pogo sticks, and smashed VCR parts. Who knows what might fit in this mess of a roster. Maybe he’ll find a masterpiece, or maybe it’ll just be a pile of junk.
You don’t know until you try.