Philadelphia 76ers: Making the case for/against re-signing each free agent

Jonathon Simmons

Never has a guy looked so good when it did not matter and then so horrendous when it did. Simmons averaged 16 points a game in the Sixers’ final two games of the regular season after being benched because of his lack of productivity.

It was hard to believe the 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing was in his third year, and a part-time starter for playoff-bound Orlando early in the season before being shipped to Philly as part of the Markelle Fultz trade. He seemed to run around like a rookie and made many ill-timed actions. Brown gave him a shot in Game 1 of the playoffs against Brooklyn, where he missed a WIDE-open three-point shot that would have given the scrambling Sixers the lead in the third period, and possibly changed the game’s momentum.

For the entirety of the playoffs, he was a minus-53. Nuf’ said.

Do the Sixers want him?

No matter what, Simmons is getting a check from the 76ers next year. Under his old Orlando contract, he is to be paid $5.7 million next season unless the Sixers release him by July 1, in which case they still owe him $1 million.

Would other NBA teams have any interest and how much would Sixers pay to keep him?

He was a promising player until his play was so bad this season that two teams, both of whom needed his kind of skills desperately, had to sit him. He is not young (turning 30 in September) but he should get a tryout with some team based on his past, non-sucky years.

Final answer: The Sixers are on the hook for a mil, so a make-good contract with only the million guaranteed is not out of the question.