Ben Simmons to the Celtics makes more sense Sense than you think

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

In the latest edition of the “Stein Line Newsletter,” the venerable Marc Stein noted how free agent playmaker Ben Simmons has drawn some interest from the Celtics, among other teams.

“League sources say that the Suns have also had some recent dialogue with former All-Star Ben Simmons, who I’m told has drawn interest since free agency began from Boston, New York and Sacramento,” Stein reported.

Simmons, 29, is coming off a season that saw him suit up for the Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers. Neither team

was able to tap into the version of himself that had him named to back-to-back All-Defensive teams, and finishing slightly outside the top-10 of MVP voting in 2021. That version of Simmons is someone you want on your team.

This version of Simmons, though?… Well, I’m not so sure.

We haven’t seen the dominant version of Simmons since he passed out of that wide-open dunk against the Atlanta Hawks in 2021. Since then, he’s become allergic to scoring the rock. His points per game during that 2021 season sat at 14.3. Since then, he’s never cracked 7 points per game on a season.

He looks scared whenever he’s in a position to score.

The lack of aggression when attempting to score the ball, which is evident in the above clip, has become part of the Simmons experience. When he creates for others, everything is fast, purposeful, and precise. However, if the defense shuts down his passing options, and the task of scoring falls on his shoulders, things can get pretty ugly.

You can see how little Denver is concerned by Simmons’ presence at the free-throw line extended, too. They sag all the way off him. No help defense is sent on his drive. They didn’t see him as a scoring threat, and rightly so.

Here’s another example. Simmons has the size advantage. He created separation from the bump. Yet, rather than using his footwork to finish right at the rim, or off the glass, he opts to lean into a hook shot — ducking legitimate contact — and smokes the shot.

The early-career Simmons would never have slowed down on that drive. He would have dropped his shoulder, turned on the jets and forced his way to the rim. Forced himself into a scoring position.

At 29, he should be in the prime of his career. Instead, he’s a walking case study of how The Yips can derail a career.

The numbers tell a similar story, too.

• In his rookie season (2017-18), Simmons went 373-of-525 at the rim, giving him a 71% conversion rate.
• As a sophomore (2018-19), he went 424-of-635 at the rim, giving him a 67% conversion rate.
• In 2019-20 he went 310-of-457 at the rim — a 68% conversion rate.
• Then, in the fateful 2020-21 season, he went 237-of-359 at the rim, which is a 66% conversion rate.

Then everything changed.

Sure, Simmons was still converting at a high clip around the rim, but the volume was turned all the way down. It went from a pounding baseline to less than a whisper.

• In 2022-23, Simmons went 85-of-124 at the rim — his lowest ever total of attempts — although his conversion sat strong at 69%

Things continued to slide from there, but so did his number of games played, so it would be disingenuous to factor them in here.

Cleaning The Glass

Ben Simmons offensive efficiency by season

Nevertheless, the picture couldn’t be clearer: Ben Simmons is not someone you add to your roster for a scoring punch.

Not now.

Not this version of himself.

He is, however, someone who creates at a high level and can quarterback an offense as a pass-only playmaker.

Simmons’ value comes due to his willingness to get the rock out of his hands at pace. He boasts solid processing speed** and is aggressive in getting his teammates the ball.

Back to the Denver game…Look how quickly Simmons redirects the rock off the offensive board. Now, as soon as the ball lands in his hands, it has been swung out to a wide-open shooter in the weakside corner. There wasn’t even a nanosecond where Simmons thought about calling his own number and going for the putback. His mind instantly went into pass-the-rock mode.

If the Celtics are looking for someone to put their scorers in strong positions, without requiring a high offensive usage rate from their own players, Simmons could be a smart, low-cost addition.

Joe Mazzulla’s roster is projected to feature multiple slashers next season. Jaylen Brown, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez all project to be better getting downhill than working on the perimeter — Brown, of course, can score from all three levels, but has looked at his best in the mid-range and around the cup.

The above clip from Simmons is a clear example of how easily he can read the floor, even when being crowded. His offensive impact, in terms of scoring, may be non-existent at this point, but there’s no denying that he’s still a valuable playmaker.

I’m also a big fan of how Simmons can match his teammates’ tempo. We’ve seen him working at his personal pace with some of the clips above, yet in this instance, when Norman Powell is looking to turn the jets on, so he can turn the corner out of the Zoom action, Simmons is more than happy to oblige. That’s a sign of a good playmaker.

When you’re creating for others, you’ve gotta meet them where they’re at.

And that brings us on to Simmons’ defense. After all, that’s what would endear him to Mazzulla and the Celtics coaching staff. If he can be even 70% of the defender he was before transforming into The Yipper, then he can be an impactful member of the rotation — either as a starter or when coming off the bench.

Simmons still has good defensive instincts. He understands angles, has great timing, takes pride in his defensive work, and is a reliable helper and weakside rim-protector. In 51 games last season, he totalled 23 blocks — nothing to write home about, but not worth ignoring, either.

Of course, Simmons isn’t the defender he once was. Still, that doesn’t mean he’s not a positive contributor on that side of the floor. According to Dunks and Three’s, the 29-year-old provided a +0.6 in DEPM (Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus) last season, meaning his team was +0.6 points better on defense per 100 possessions than without him on the floor.

That number means Simmons was slightly above league average on defense last season. However, just two seasons earlier, he was among some of the better defenders in the NBA, with a +1.4 DEPM. To put this into context, Evan Mobley, the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, had a +3.9 DEPM this season.

Dunks and Threes

Ben Simmons Career Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus

Playing for the Celtics, under Mazzulla’s unorthodox tutelage, could bring the best out of Simmons, at least on the defensive end. The hope is that he could operate in a similar role to what prime Draymond Green did for the Golden State Warriors: quarterbacking the defense and operating as a connector on the offensive end.

There’s more than one way to be a highly impactful member of a rotation. And, while Simmons’ offense may never recover to his pre-passed-up dunk level, he can still finish at the rim with the best of them in transition, and could always rediscover the gear that made him such a frightening prospect.

Honestly, if there was ever a coach to get inside his head and drag the dawg back out of him, it would be Mazzulla. He’s already proven that his methods work, and he managed to get a team full of stars all pulling in the same direction while leaving egos at the door.

However, both Jordi Fernandez and Ty Lue have tried to rehab Simmons and failed, so the Celtics would need to come into the partnership with low expectations. For me, adding him to the rotation would be deemed a success if he helped replace some of the defense the franchise lost when Jrue Holiday was shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers, and some of the halfcourt playmaking that vanished when Jayson Tatum suffered his Achilles injury.

If Simmons could plug both of those gaps, stay healthy, and find a way to become a 10-point-per-game contributor on solid efficiency, I think there’s a world where he can be an important part of Boston’s rotation. I also wonder whether Mazzulla would be the first coach to try running Simmons in the frontcourt, potentially limiting the impact of opposing defenses sagging off him when attacking in the half-court. He could become a slashing playmaker, thriving in drive-and-dish actions with the size and rebounding chops to fill some legitimate needs.

Many people like to poke fun at Simmons. He was, after all, part of the Sixers’ process, which, to this day, is still ongoing and faltering with each passing week. However, in the right context, with the right scheme around him, he could still be a valuable rotation piece.

If the Celtics can add him on a veteran minimum deal, with a team option for a second or third year, it could be a bargain, low-cost, potential high-reward addition to the roster.

Simmons isn’t a sexy addition anymore. But, if the Celtics are in the business of taking flyers on guys with upside, then this is a flyer they should be more than willing to test out.

CelticsBlog graciously allowed this article to be cross-posted from my growing “Celtics Chronicle” newsletter.

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** According to sports science, processing speed is an encapsulation of how quickly a player can perceive information, make the correct decision based on that information and initiate and action/response.

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