As they sit below the NBA’s first tax apron, the Atlanta Hawks have a chance to increase their payroll this summer with potential trades and signings. They could really shake up their offseason by offering a cheap prove-it deal to a familiar foe: Ben Simmons.
Simmons played the second half of last season on a minimum contract with the Clippers, averaging 2.9 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in less than 17 minutes per game. Per 36 minutes, the former All-Star averaged 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks, flashing remnants of the two-way skills that earned him top-four finishes in DPOY voting in each of his last two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons’ career took a downward spiral back in 2021 after his infamous collapse against the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After helping Philly secure the No. 1 seed in the regular season with his third straight All-Star appearance and a top-12 finish in MVP voting, Simmons averaged 9.9 points on just 6.4 field goal attempts per game in a seven-game loss to Atlanta. He shot a putrid 15/45 (33.3%) from the free throw line in the second-round exit.
Hawks fans – and most basketball fans, for that matter – will never forget the Simmons play that went viral for all the wrong reasons:
On this day 2 years ago, Ben Simmons passed up a WIDE open dunk in the 4th quarter to tie Game 7 of the East semis vs. the Hawks 😬
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 20, 2023
Matisse Thybulle would split the free throws and the Sixers would go on to lose the series.pic.twitter.com/LHuQCEdYGp
Four years later, Simmons has gone from a rising superstar to a relative afterthought. However, the 6-foot-10 point forward still has skills a team like the Hawks could use, especially for Simmons’ current price.
Simmons' positional flexibility could give the Hawks various lineups and player combinations to toy with, and the former No. 1 pick still possesses enough versatility on both ends of the floor to raise the ceiling of any bench unit in the league.
Ben Simmons to the Hawks would be one of the wildest storylines of the offseason
Given his rather unique connection to the Hawks, Simmons signing with Atlanta would provide NBA fans with one of the more entertaining storylines of the offseason. After his iconic missed layup and the messy departure from Philly that followed, Simmons would have probably viewed the Hawks as the last team he wanted to join. Now he may not have a better option.
With the Indiana Pacers locked into a seven-game NBA Finals after ending the regular season as a No. 5 seed, teams like the Hawks will view the Eastern Conference as wide open next year. Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achilles injury will only open the floodgates further for another Cinderella run out east.
Adding players like Simmons to Atlanta’s bench could propel Trae Young and his supporting cast to a surprise postseason in 2026. In addition, the Hawks are one of the few teams with the non–taxpayer Mid-Level Exception available, meaning they could offer someone like Simmons a higher salary than most other organizations.
With room to improve and money to spend, Atlanta could go all-in on building a championship foundation this offseason. Whether Ben Simmons could play a part in that process remains to be seen.