Simmons signs with LA Clippers after Brooklyn Nets release

The Los Angeles Clippers have signed Ben Simmons two days after the Brooklyn Nets agreed to buy out the Australian’s contract and waived the point guard.

The Clippers did not announce the terms of the agreement, which will see Simmons team up with fellow Australian Patty Mills.

Simmons, 28, was in the final season of a five-year deal with the Nets when he was released, ending an injury-marred three-year stay with the franchise.

A three-time All-Star and the former Rookie of the Year, Simmons joined the Nets in February 2022 after he was acquired in the five-player trade that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Harden now plays for the Clippers, having been traded by the 76ers in 2023.

Simmons appeared in 90 games (69 starts) for the Nets and averaged 6.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists over 25.4 minutes per game.

He played 33 of those games this season.

Simmons’s numbers in Brooklyn lagged behind those he put up with the 76ers, who made him the number one overall pick in 2016.

In 275 games with the Sixers, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists.

Simmons missed two full seasons with the Sixers due to injuries and a holdout.

Back issues have plagued him throughout his career.

Reuters