Minnesota Sports Forum

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 9:08 am

Phenom wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2026 10:14 am Speaking of 3 point shooting Ben Simmons wants back in to the league and is willing to take the minimum.

One Western Conference team has already offered him a training camp invite.

Over/under on it being the Wolves is what?

He must need the money. Even the $4M vet minimum is real money for a guy who’s unemployed and probably still spends at the level of the NBA lifestyle he apparently loved a lot more than the game. I have no interest in giving a roster spot to a guy who doesn’t love the game and I really doubt Simmons suddenly misses the game. He probably misses the money and the female attention. If we wanted a non-shooting vet minimum guy who rebounds and defends we should have signed Sochan. He plays hard and is still young with upside. I’ll pass on Simmons.

C'mon Lip, it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work nothing is really lost.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 12:09 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 9:08 am

Phenom wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2026 10:14 am Speaking of 3 point shooting Ben Simmons wants back in to the league and is willing to take the minimum.

One Western Conference team has already offered him a training camp invite.

Over/under on it being the Wolves is what?

He must need the money. Even the $4M vet minimum is real money for a guy who’s unemployed and probably still spends at the level of the NBA lifestyle he apparently loved a lot more than the game. I have no interest in giving a roster spot to a guy who doesn’t love the game and I really doubt Simmons suddenly misses the game. He probably misses the money and the female attention. If we wanted a non-shooting vet minimum guy who rebounds and defends we should have signed Sochan. He plays hard and is still young with upside. I’ll pass on Simmons.

C'mon Lip, it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work nothing is really lost.

I get where Lip is coming from but at one point. Simmons was a DPOY candidate. I saw a tweet yesterday that showed a defensive possession when Simmons played for the Clippers. It was pretty impressive. If he is reasonably healthy he is a better and bigger defender than Sochan and a way better ball handler and playmaker. I also have doubts about how much he really wants it but I wouldn't dismiss the idea of signing him especially if he is truly looking to prove himself which a non or partially guaranteed vet min deal would easily qualify. Simmons has over a 9' standing reach and weighs around 240 lbs. The guy really could play some center. Imagine having the guys that finished 1 and 2 in DPOY voting a few years ago in the front count with McDaniels at SF? OMG...it won't happen and Simmons probably won't stay healthy but it's interesting to think about.

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 1:53 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 12:09 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 9:08 am

He must need the money. Even the $4M vet minimum is real money for a guy who’s unemployed and probably still spends at the level of the NBA lifestyle he apparently loved a lot more than the game. I have no interest in giving a roster spot to a guy who doesn’t love the game and I really doubt Simmons suddenly misses the game. He probably misses the money and the female attention. If we wanted a non-shooting vet minimum guy who rebounds and defends we should have signed Sochan. He plays hard and is still young with upside. I’ll pass on Simmons.

C'mon Lip, it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work nothing is really lost.

I get where Lip is coming from but at one point. Simmons was a DPOY candidate. I saw a tweet yesterday that showed a defensive possession when Simmons played for the Clippers. It was pretty impressive. If he is reasonably healthy he is a better and bigger defender than Sochan and a way better ball handler and playmaker. I also have doubts about how much he really wants it but I wouldn't dismiss the idea of signing him especially if he is truly looking to prove himself which a non or partially guaranteed vet min deal would easily qualify. Simmons has over a 9' standing reach and weighs around 240 lbs. The guy really could play some center. Imagine having the guys that finished 1 and 2 in DPOY voting a few years ago in the front count with McDaniels at SF? OMG...it won't happen and Simmons probably won't stay healthy but it's interesting to think about.

the offense is why it's pointless to bring him in, even if he has desires to prove himself. Is he gonna shoot threes? No. Is he gonna dunk? No. Is he gonna shoot free throws? No. He's too much of a non factor on that side of the ball to have him on the floor.

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 2:05 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 1:53 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 12:09 pm
C'mon Lip, it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work nothing is really lost.

I get where Lip is coming from but at one point. Simmons was a DPOY candidate. I saw a tweet yesterday that showed a defensive possession when Simmons played for the Clippers. It was pretty impressive. If he is reasonably healthy he is a better and bigger defender than Sochan and a way better ball handler and playmaker. I also have doubts about how much he really wants it but I wouldn't dismiss the idea of signing him especially if he is truly looking to prove himself which a non or partially guaranteed vet min deal would easily qualify. Simmons has over a 9' standing reach and weighs around 240 lbs. The guy really could play some center. Imagine having the guys that finished 1 and 2 in DPOY voting a few years ago in the front count with McDaniels at SF? OMG...it won't happen and Simmons probably won't stay healthy but it's interesting to think about.

the offense is why it's pointless to bring him in, even if he has desires to prove himself. Is he gonna shoot threes? No. Is he gonna dunk? No. Is he gonna shoot free throws? No. He's too much of a non factor on that side of the ball to have him on the floor.

We are still talking about the vet minimum. Minimum guys will either be too old, too bad on defense, too bad at shooting, too injury prone, etc. What deficiency can the team live with?

Phenom wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 3:32 pm

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 2:05 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 1:53 pm

I get where Lip is coming from but at one point. Simmons was a DPOY candidate. I saw a tweet yesterday that showed a defensive possession when Simmons played for the Clippers. It was pretty impressive. If he is reasonably healthy he is a better and bigger defender than Sochan and a way better ball handler and playmaker. I also have doubts about how much he really wants it but I wouldn't dismiss the idea of signing him especially if he is truly looking to prove himself which a non or partially guaranteed vet min deal would easily qualify. Simmons has over a 9' standing reach and weighs around 240 lbs. The guy really could play some center. Imagine having the guys that finished 1 and 2 in DPOY voting a few years ago in the front count with McDaniels at SF? OMG...it won't happen and Simmons probably won't stay healthy but it's interesting to think about.

the offense is why it's pointless to bring him in, even if he has desires to prove himself. Is he gonna shoot threes? No. Is he gonna dunk? No. Is he gonna shoot free throws? No. He's too much of a non factor on that side of the ball to have him on the floor.

We are still talking about the vet minimum. Minimum guys will either be too old, too bad on defense, too bad at shooting, too injury prone, etc. What deficiency can the team live with?

even his positive attributes are negated by the fact that he's hurt all the time.

It's a vet minimum but unfortunately we're still looking for someone who could theoretically wrestle a starting spot away if they're a big who can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Phenom wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2026 9:09 am Simmons definitely flew under the radar as an option for me. I would be good with bringing him on. He can rebound, play defense, start the break and isn't a ball stopper. The jumper is what it is but this team has been effective with SloMo being a similar archetype. It also sounds like he feels the best that he has health wise in a long time.

Gotta admit this is intriguing, but ultimately I side with Lip on this one. I get that Simmons is a better version in most ways of SloMo, but still, the Wolves have been pretty bad in the minutes SloMo played with Rudy...just doesn't work. I think we really need a shooter next to Rudy/Joan.

Simmons brings his own limitations (shooting, commitment, layoff, et al)... but... for the price, there's no other player available with the same potential.

Then again, burn me once. Burn me twice... I don't know when we're supposed to take guys like Simmons seriously or just send them away for good.

Some reporting on the Ben Simmons situation from Jake Fisher. He also said Simmons turned down a non guaranteed deal last year from the Knicks because it wasn't guaranteed.

“No one’s looking to give Ben Simmons a guaranteed roster spot right now. That’s just the reality,” Fischer said. “(Teams) would need to actually to see this ‘regained athleticism’ and see what he actually looks like in a five-on-five setting, day after day after day, really competing at the highest level. Because we just haven’t seen that from him for years now.”

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/08/fre ... brown.html

Monster wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2026 9:45 am Some reporting on the Ben Simmons situation from Jake Fisher. He also said Simmons turned down a non guaranteed deal last year from the Knicks because it wasn't guaranteed.

“No one’s looking to give Ben Simmons a guaranteed roster spot right now. That’s just the reality,” Fischer said. “(Teams) would need to actually to see this ‘regained athleticism’ and see what he actually looks like in a five-on-five setting, day after day after day, really competing at the highest level. Because we just haven’t seen that from him for years now.”

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/08/fre ... brown.html

Interesting but not surprising. Insisting on a guaranteed contract doesn’t sound like a guy itching to get back to playing the game he loves and proving himself. We have only one roster spot and $4M to spend. We shouldn’t waste that last precious roster spot in a guy like Simmons.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2026 9:53 am

Monster wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2026 9:45 am Some reporting on the Ben Simmons situation from Jake Fisher. He also said Simmons turned down a non guaranteed deal last year from the Knicks because it wasn't guaranteed.

“No one’s looking to give Ben Simmons a guaranteed roster spot right now. That’s just the reality,” Fischer said. “(Teams) would need to actually to see this ‘regained athleticism’ and see what he actually looks like in a five-on-five setting, day after day after day, really competing at the highest level. Because we just haven’t seen that from him for years now.”

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/08/fre ... brown.html

Interesting but not surprising. Insisting on a guaranteed contract doesn’t sound like a guy itching to get back to playing the game he loves and proving himself. We have only one roster spot and $4M to spend. We shouldn’t waste that last precious roster spot in a guy like Simmons.

That was last year and he likely wasn't as healthy so taking the year off probably wasn't the worst thing for him. Lets not lose sight of the fact that at one point this guy was an all NBA player 1st team all defense guy. We aren't talking about Darko who was for the most part never someone. Simmons had real game at one point. Both of us are skeptical about what he still has to offer but Simmons at one point in time was definitely a high end basketball player and put forth a lot into being that type of guy. Does he have it in him and would his body even let him? Nobody knows and thats why teams are IMO rightfully not lining up with offers for his services. If the guy genuinely is trying to get back out there I'm cheering for him to have some level of success and health wherever he ends up. I do sense that he might have to go to the right spot for it to work. I think Finch would probably be a good coach for him.