Report: Simmons contemplates retirement

With training camp approaching, Ben Simmons remains a free agent.

While he has interest from teams, the New York Post's Stefan Bondy reports the two-time All-Defensive First Team guard considering retirement.

Simmons, 29, has had an NBA career riddled with injury. Taken with the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of LSU by the Philadelphia 76ers, Simmons missed the entirety of his rookie season with an ankle-foot injury picked up in training camp.

The Melbourne-born Simmons would star in his next two campaigns, winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and earning the first of three straight All-Star nods in 2019. He was rewarded with a five-year, $170 extension ahead of the 2019-2020 season. It was then in his third season in which injuries began to plague Simmons again. During the COVID-shortened bubble campaign, Simmons missed time with a knee injury before missing the entirety of the playoffs with a back ailment.

The following season, Simmons found himself lambasted after a poor playoff performance in which he didn't attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter in five of the team's seven games against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semis. The way the postseason ended greatly damaged the relationship between Simmons and the team with the player holding out of training camp and missing the entire 2021-2022 season in an attempt to force a trade.

Simmons was finally dealt to the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022 in a deal that brought James Harden to the Sixers. He would go on to appear in just 90 games for the team over three seasons once again due to his now-chronic back injury.

After being bought out by the Nets in February of this year, Simmons signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, appearing in 18 games and five playoff games for the team.

In 383 games across seven seasons, Simmons has averaged 13.1 points on .558 shooting, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists over 31.1 minutes a night.