Is it possible Simmons will retire soon: Is it possible he will retire?
Future Date, TBD, Simmons has retired from the NBA. Whether sooner or later, Simmons will one day retire from the NBA. Father Time is undefeated unless he is going up against Tom Brady. Still, I think it is fair to wonder if Simmons will be an NBA player past the age of 30. He will turn 26 this offseason so that puts the over/under on his time remaining at 4 years.
The drama series currently playing in Brooklyn, New York may make the under bet garner even better odds. Kevin Durant demanding a trade the day after Kyrie Irving opts into his contract is a better storyline than any episode of The Young and the Restless. Surprisingly throughout all this drama, Simmons has remained silent, surely also planning his escape to a new team.
Let’s go back to something I previously mentioned, Simmons appears to be more interested in the fame and fortune that comes as a result of being a star NBA player, than actually being a star NBA player. If you follow his social media accounts, you are inundated with beautiful homes, rare sports cars, and at one point even pictures of Savannah cats living with him.
He spends money as fast as he earns it, maybe faster, which is a problem considering he has only actually taken home the money from his rookie deal. His max contract extension was the money being withheld in the disagreements with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now that Simmons is a member of the Nets, he will likely receive the remaining money on his contract and acquire the $170 million just shy of his 29th birthday. At which point, he should be able to comfortably walk away from basketball and retire even considering his unmatched spending habits. There is clearly some sort of mental health issue that Simmons is battling and it seems the pressure that basketball encompasses exacerbates his issues.
On top of that, he seems to just not love playing the game, which is something needed for players at the NBA level. Look, many people thought Simmons would cave to the Sixers fines and eventually play for the team at some point this year.
Then, many people believed the change of scenery via a trade to Brooklyn would have him playing soon after that. Lastly, it was expected Simmons would play in the Boston series because he specifically said as much himself.
Maybe we have to stop expecting Simmons to play, even when the words come directly from the horse’s mouth. He is a talented, young, and rich man that recently got engaged. Who knows if his aspirations are beyond basketball. What we do know is he has his whole life ahead of him and I don’t see basketball being a long-term part of his future.