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Ben Simmons just signed a five-year, $170 million contract extension, locking him up through the 2024-25 season.
However, the Sixers have added a nice little caveat to the deal in an effort to motivate Simmons further this upcoming 2019-20 season. According to Bobby Marks and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Simmons' extension is broken down into tiers depending on where — or if — he finishes on one of the All-NBA teams next season:
Simmons also has Designated Rookie Extension language in his contract that would elevate his compensation if he earns a spot on one of the All-NBA teams in 2019-20, per source. https://t.co/OPOyN8IPi8
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 16, 2019
Here is the complete breakdown on the five-year rookie max extension for Ben Simmons:
All-NBA 1st team: $203.6M
All-NBA 2nd team: $196.8M
All-NBA 3rd team: $190M
No All-NBA: $169.7M
As @wojespn reported the contract has a 15% trade bonus and does not have a player option.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 17, 2019
That's a lot of money at stake for the former Rookie of the Year. And once again, the media gets to decide whether he deserves that pay hike by the end of the year. This is a great way to motivate Simmons to work on his game further this summer.
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His recent decision to skip out on the 2019 FIBA World Cup shouldn't come as a surprise anymore following the release of the details of his max extension. Simmons said he decided to forego joining the Australian Boomers in this August's tournament to focus on working on his game this summer to prepare for the 2019-20 NBA season.
Simmons appears determined to improve the most glaring weakness of his game: shooting. Many pundits have blasted the 6-foot-10 point guard for his inability to shoot, which is a must in today's NBA.
Simmons is already one of the most gifted passers in the league, and his athletic ability is second to none. However, given his lack of shooting, his offensive capabilities are limited, especially in a half-court setting.
Developing a working jump shot should help further elevate Ben Simmons' already dynamic offensive game. This, in turn, should help the former No. 1 overall pick's chances of securing a bigger bag by the end of next season.
