Ben Simmons has decided to resume his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings. After a year-long hiatus, the former No. 1 pick will get his chance at a comeback. Times like these serve as a reminder that the Boston Celtics were interested in bringing him in last year. What many forget is that their interest in Simmons dates further back than that.
That's right, when Simmons was going through his infamous fallout with Philadelphia back in 2021, Boston inquired about him. However, they drew the line when the 76ers wanted Jaylen Brown in exchange for Simmons.
Yeah, there's some cruel irony to that in hindsight. However, even though Simmons had been humiliated in the prior postseason, his value was still pretty high. Luckily, it wasn't high enough for Boston to cave to Philly's demands (it also raises the question of what the Celtics were willing to offer if neither Jay was on the table).
Thank heavens the Celtics knew when to stop the trade talks, because there's no telling how badly things would have turned out if they had traded for Simmons knowing everything that happened since the Sixers traded him.
Simmons would have been a disaster in Boston
I say that not because of any fit issues or anything like that, but because Simmons has never been close to the player he was as a Sixer. Back injuries robbed him of his athleticism. In so doing, he's not a high flyer anymore, which has hurt his effectiveness as a player.
This was a problem for Brooklyn, as he not only missed extensive time, but even when he played, it was kind of painful to watch him look like a shell of himself while also demonstrating some of his infamously bad habits he had even before his decline.
No matter what anyone may think of Brown, he gave the Celtics his all from start to finish. He earnestly did what he could to contribute to their winning culture. Substitue him for post-Philly Simmons and it's fair to say Boston does not see nearly the same success they did in the Jays era during the 2020s.
It's true that Boston was interested in Simmons last year, but there's a big difference between paying someone a veteran's minimum contract to be emergency depth than paying someone tens of millions annually to be a featured player when he can't even do that.
All the best to Simmons as he resumes his NBA career, but when knowing that this is what he's been reduced to, Boston can give out a huge sigh of relief that he didn't sink their franchise like he did Brooklyn's.
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