NBA Insider Sends Ben Simmons Harsh Message After Leaving Clippers

Winners of 18 of their last 21 regular-season games, the Clippers shocked the NBA and earned the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

Behind that was the chemistry and fitment of roles for everyone, including the superstars at the top in Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

Denver gave the Clippers issues in the first round of the playoffs, and when the floor shrank, so too did the minutes of the Clippers' buyout signing Ben Simmons.

Insider Gets Brutally Honest About Simmons

There is no doubt about it: Simmons is still a flawed player. But there are ways he can specialize in a role on a team in the NBA despite those flaws.

Many teams see the injury history, the lack of a jumpshot, and the inability to create offense for himself, but over the course of the regular season for the Clippers, he was useful in his "point-center" role in the second unit.

ESPN insider Brian Windhorst appeared on an Australian show for his network to give a harsh message about the multi-time All-Star.

"You know, the interest has been lukewarm. There are a few teams that are interested. Frankly, if you're looking at him as a point guard, there's not that many teams out there that are in need of a point guard who has guaranteed playing time," Windhorst said. "Ask Russell Westbrook. Not that Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons are similar players, but they are two veteran free agents that are sitting on that market because there's not a vast need for point guards."

The key point here is that Windhorst mentions the fact that Simmons' stock around the league has not helped his cause in getting a deal, saying, "Ben Simmons stock has been falling dramatically for years, and the fact that we're into September and he doesn't have a full time guaranteed job, I think speaks to that."

A harsh message, but one that is entirely true, out of Windhorst. The Clippers used him in a reserve role, but he only averaged 8.4 minutes per game in their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, and even in that time, he averaged a lowly 0.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

With many teams wrapping up their offseasons, it could mean that Simmons waits until after the season begins to sign with a new team.