The Boston Celtics are the odds-on favorite to land three-time NBA All-Star and former Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons.
According to online sportsbook Bovada, the Celtics are +400 favorites to become Simmons’ next team if he doesn’t re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.
A distant second are the New York Knicks (+750), while the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat are tied at +800. A return to Philadelphia is also a betting favorite at +900, tied with the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Also in the betting list are Australia’s NBL teams Melbourne United (+1600) and SE Melbourne Phoenix (+2500), Saudi Basketball League’s Al Nassr BC (+2800) and the Toronto Raptors (+5000).
Ben Simmons’ Stocks Plummet
The presence of those basketball clubs outside of the NBA in Simmons’ next team betting list just shows how the former No. 1 pick’s stock had dropped since his holdout in Philadelphia.
Simmons’ fall from grace started after former Sixers coach Doc Rivers publicly criticized him for passing up on an open shot at the rim during their Game 7 loss in the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference semis.
Since then, Simmons had become an afterthought when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden. He only appeared in 90 games throughout his 2 1/2 seasons in Brooklyn due to lingering back and mental health issues.
The two-time All-Defensive point forward has never averaged double-digit scoring since he left Philadelphia.
The 6-foot-10 Simmons averaged 6.5 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds with the Nets. After agreeing to a buyout with the Nets in February, he signed with the Clippers.
But his numbers dipped to a career-low 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 17.0 minutes per game with the Clippers.
The Celtics could take a flier on him on a veteran’s minimum contract to round out their expensive roster.
Celtics to Break Up Expensive Core?
Regardless of the outcome of the Celtics’ bid to repeat as champions this season, a roster shakeup is coming in the offseason.
ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported that the Celtics will be active in the offseason.
“The rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics roster this offseason,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on May 1. “Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason.
“This iteration just is not going to be sustainable for this team and no one around the organization – from players to staffers – would be surprised if there are changes coming to this roster. Because when you think about the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, there’s restrictions that come with trades, there’s restrictions that come with freezing of draft picks. That’s all stuff that they’re dealing with right now.”
Boston will have $221 million tied up in only nine players for next season. That is already above the $207.8 million second apron limit that will incur a massive luxury tax bill on top of the punitive roster-building restrictions.
The penalties for a second apron team include not having access to midlevel exceptions, cannot aggregate salaries in trades, cannot use trade exceptions from prior years, first-round pick seven years in the future will be frozen. And if they stay above the second apron for three out of five seasons, their upcoming first-round draft pick will be moved to the end of the first round.
Celtics president Brad Stevens has important decisions to make.
