Latest news with #FreeAgency
Forbes
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
2025 NBA Free Agents: A Contender Should Take A Flyer On Ben Simmons
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - FEBRUARY 13: Ben Simmons #25 of the LA Clippers handles the ball during the ... More first half of a game against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center on February 13, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) With the 2024-25 season nearing its conclusion, it is time to start looking ahead to the offseason. In this article series, we will take a look at under-the-radar options in the 2025 Free Agency Pool. For the sake of simplicity, we are going to focus primarily on unrestricted free agents. Few players have experienced a fall from grace on par with the one Ben Simmons has experienced over the last few years. Just four years ago, Simmons was being selected to All-Star and All-Defensive teams and considered an integral piece on a team that was one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals. Then, injuries and an unwillingness to shoot the basketball caught up to him, leading to the former first overall pick accepting a contract buyout and signing with another team for the minimum in just his age-28 season. Now, Simmons is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and while it is clear he is no longer the top 25 player that he once was, Simmons has shown that he can still contribute to winning at the right price. Ben Simmons Gives Teams Lineup Versatility When he first arrived on the NBA scene, Simmons was viewed as a point guard because of his prodigious vision and advanced ball handling abilities. For the first four years of his career, Simmons never played less than 74% of his minutes at point guard and never logged a single minute in the frontcourt (per Basketball Reference). Unfortunately, Simmons shooting woes (he's only taken 36 career 3-pointers) and inability to bend defenses consistently made it nearly impossible to play him at lead guard and still field a sound offense. The good news is that thanks to his size (6'10) and strength, Simmons has been able to transition to playing more minutes at power forward/center. This season, his three most frequent matchups included Giannis Antetokounmpo, Evan Mobley, and Pascal Siakam (per The beauty of Simmons is that he has the force to battle with paint-centric players like the troika above and the gracefulness to dance with smaller players. According to BBall Index, Simmons' performance last season placed in the 96th percentile in Defensive Positional Versatility. Ben Simmons Player Card. Simmons gives teams who tout a more traditional center (Brook Lopez, Nikola Jokic, Ivica Zubac, etc.) a different pitch because of his ability to seamlessly toggle between guarding centers, forwards, and guards. If you're one of those teams that rosters a stone-footed starting center and needs a lineup that can switch everything, you can turn to Simmons as your backup five in a small-ball lineup. Simmons Can Do Enough On Offense To Get By As A Center Simmons' offensive foibles killed his teams when he was playing point guard, but when he's at center, they are far less damaging. While playing the five, Simmons doesn't need to worry about perimeter shooting or on-ball creation. He just needs to screen, cut, make quick reads as a passer (in short rolls or when he's being used as a playmaking hub), and finish around the rim. As the player card above shows, Simmons had a great season as a screener – placing in the 92nd percentile in screening talent (the same is true with his cutting). His distribution skills also remain as sharp as ever, as Simmons placed in the 100th percentile in Ben Taylor's Passer Rating metric. Finishing was a struggle for him last season (31st percentile rim accuracy), which is a big reason why head coach Tyronn Lue eventually phased him out of the rotation in the Los Angeles Clippers' first round series against the Denver Nuggets. However, there is hope that this was just a fluke, as Simmons has placed in the 67th percentile or higher in rim finishing in five of his six other NBA seasons. At the end of the day, Simmons is still a below average offensive player, even when he's playing center. But his passing, screening, cutting, and finishing are good enough to keep him on the floor and allow his employer to reap the benefits of his all-inclusive defensive package. As someone who will likely sign for the veteran minimum again this offseason (estimated to be 3.1 million, based on Simmons' experience), Simmons offers a great option for playoff teams looking to add a versatile chess piece to their bench rotation at an affordable rate. Did you enjoy this article? If so, be sure to check out the other installments in this series of Amir Coffey, Landry Shamet, Duncan Robinson, and Jae'Sean Tate.
National Post
10 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
Talks provide Flames, Rasmus Andersson some 'clarity on where we're headed'
Article content The Calgary Flames and Rasmus Andersson know what comes next. Article content Whether that's a contract extension or a trade isn't something they're speaking about openly, but they've agreed on what direction they'll be working towards in the coming days, weeks and months. Article content Article content 'We've been talking to his representation,' Flames GM Craig Conroy said on Thursday morning. 'We understand where they're at and they understand where we're at and we're going through that process, but at least we have some clarity on where we're headed.' Article content Article content Andersson's future has been a source of rampant speculation since the end of the season and that will only ramp up over the next week as the NHL's 2025 Draft approaches on June 27-28. Article content The 28-year-old blueliner has played all 536 games of his NHL career with the Flames, who picked him in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. But he's an unrestricted free agent next summer and is eligible to sign an extension on July 1. Article content With a well-stocked cupboard of defensive prospects, including Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz, in the pipeline, there's a strong argument that it doesn't make sense to sign Andersson to a big-money, long-term deal. Article content And, for Andersson, there may be a better contract elsewhere. That's something he was all-too-aware of when he spoke at the Flames end-of-season availabilities in April. Article content 'I don't know what's going to happen, honestly,' Andersson said 'I have to sit down with my family. Conny and all those guys upstairs, they have to sit down and talk about what's best for the team. Article content Article content 'I wish I could say 'Hey, I'm signing July 1,' but I can't at the moment. Or 'I'm getting traded July 1.' I just don't know, right? I hope the fans know I've loved every second of it. I've never taken it for granted. I hope I'm here for many years to come, but this is where it's a big decision for me and the Flames. It's the first time in my career I'm in this spot.' Article content Article content Andersson played for Sweden at the IIHF world championship in May and it's understood that he has taken some time to figure out his priorities as he approaches free agency for the first time. Article content He didn't have his best year in 2024-25 and, while some of that can be attributed to the fact that he was playing with a broken fibula for the last 12 games of the season, he still finished minus-38 and put up his lowest points total in years.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rising East Team Named Best Fit For Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga
Rising East Team Named Best Fit For Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The story of what happens with Jonathan Kuminga this offseason is one of the most intriguing in the Bay Area. Kuminga's future with the Golden State Warriors is as murky of a situation as one would imagine. Advertisement With Kuminga set to hit restricted free agency, many are prognosing the former 2021 lottery pick has played his last game with the Warriors. After a rollercoaster of a 2024-25 season, that should come as a surprise to no one. If Kuminga does not end up back in Golden State, there is one place that stands out as a natural suitor for the young and athletic free agent. At least, that was the case for Bobby Marks. Golden State Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga.© David Gonzales-Imagn Images The ESPN writer recently published an article discussing the top free agents in the class and discussing what could happen with them this summer. Marks did have the Warriors as one of the two 'best fits' for Kuminga this offseason. The other team listed was the Brooklyn Nets. Advertisement "Projecting a new contract for Kuminga is like trying to master the Rubik's Cube," Marks joked. "As for his next contract, the only thing guaranteed is that Golden State will tender the forward a $7.9 million qualifying offer before June 29." Marks noted that the deal he would offer the Warriors forward during the summer would be a three-year, $81 million contract. The final season of that deal would include a player option. "A contract that starts at $25 million gives Golden State the flexibility to fill out its roster and remain below the second apron," Marks added. If the Warriors do not bring him back, the Nets could certainly throw a deal at Kuminga that would be worth his time, given their cap space. However, it would not be surprising to see the Nets facilitate a deal to a third team as well. Advertisement Related: Warriors Projected to Make 'Bold' 2025 NBA Draft Decision Related: Warriors Predicted to Go International in NBA Draft to Address Key Need This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
2025 NBA Free Agents: Robinson Can Revamp Your Offense At A Bargain
With the 2024-25 season nearing its conclusion, it is time to start looking ahead to the offseason. In this article series, we will take a look at under-the-radar options in the 2025 Free Agency Pool. For the sake of simplicity, we are going to focus primarily on unrestricted free agents. At a glance, Duncan Robinson still has one more deal left on the five-year, 90-million dollar contract that he signed back in 2021. However, the final year of his deal is only partially guaranteed (9.9 million). So, if the Miami Heat (or whatever team they trade him to) waives him for before July 8, they will save roughly 10 million dollars. If that's the case, Robinson would become an unrestricted free agent, making him available for the rest of the league to try and sign this offseason. Now, a 31-year-old coming off an 11 PPG season may not seem like a game-changer, but don't let the numbers fool you. Robinson can add a whole new wrinkle to any offense. Robinson has always been one of the best shooters on the planet. It's the reason he was able to pull off the storybook odyssey from Williams College (a Division III school) to the University of Michigan to the NBA. For his career, Robinson is shooting 39.7% on 7.2 3-point attempts per game – a mountain of volume and efficiency that few others in NBA history have ever climbed. All-Time Shooters Chart. Stathead. In today's spaced out world, shooting is one of the best skills you can have. But shooting alone isn't enough to be a productive player. NBA defenses are too sophisticated, and over the years, they have concocted tactics to neutralize shooting specialists (i.e., the fly-by closeout). This, along with Robinson's limitations as a defender, threatened to put the marksmen into extinction. During the 2022 Playoffs, Robinson played just 12.2 MPG for the Heat despite being the team's fourth-highest-paid player. The season after, Robinson played just 16.5 MPG in the regular season before flashing his personal growth that postseason. The development we're referencing is Robinson's improvement playing off-the-dribble. Robinson didn't magically transform into Allen Iverson, but aggressive closeouts no longer phased him. He has become comfortable attacking those fly-bys with one or two dribbles and a midrange pull-up or shot at the rim. Robinson's growth in this area is apparent when you look at his increase in frequency of shots taken after at least one dribble over his career. Look at the steady uptick over the last couple of years: As a general rule, the better a player gets at ball handling, the better they are as a passer. When you are more comfortable with the ball in your hands, your brain exerts less energy dribbling, which gives it more latitude to focus on reading the floor and dissecting the defense. According to Ben Taylor's Passer Rating metric, this past season was the best passing year of Robinson's career – grading as a respectable 5.3 out of 10 (53rd percentile). When you pair Robinson's growth as a passer/ball handler with his all-time shooting abilities, you get a dynamic complimentary offensive option – one that pairs with practically any type of offensive engine. Do you need a floor spacer and closeout attacker to pair with a ball-dominant guard/wing? Robinson is your man. What about a movement shooter who can operate in the two-man game with your passing big? Robinson can do that, too. A release valve for isolationists to skip the ball to when defenses are playing hard in the gaps? You already know the answer: Robinson is your guy. The best part is, since Robinson would still be earning half his salary for next year if he gets waived, he'll be more likely to sign for the veteran minimum this summer (which is estimated to be 3.1 million dollars next season). Robinson still has his flaws. His defensive shortcomings will make it hard to play him big minutes in the playoffs. But the chance at getting a dynamic offensive player for a couple of million dollars is an opportunity that few playoff teams can afford to pass up. Did you enjoy this article? If so, be sure to check out the other installments in this series of Amir Coffey, Landry Shamet, and Jae'Sean Tate.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
PWHL Vancouver signs forward Hannah Miller on first day of free agency
PWHL Vancouver signed former Toronto Sceptres forward Hannah Miller as a free agent on Monday. The expansion team announced the deal on the first day of the league's free agency window. The 29-year-old Miller played two seasons in Toronto, and had 10 goals and 14 assists in 29 games last season. She previously spent five seasons with the KRS Vanke Rays in China.
