Ben Simmons signs with Clippers following buyout from Nets

The former No. 1 overall pick has played 90 games over the last three seasons.

(Photo credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images)

The LA Clippers officially announced on Monday that former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons has signed with the team after clearing waivers following his reaching a buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets.

Simmons, 28, signed for the prorated veteran minimum with the Clippers, keeping the franchise under the luxury tax by $1.14 million and also under the first apron hard cap, to which the team is restricted, by $8.46 million.

The Clippers are on pace to be out of the luxury tax for the first time since 2019-20 and have begun the clock on resetting the punitive repeater tax. If the Clippers are out of the luxury tax for any one of the following three seasons beyond this present one, their mission will be accomplished.

Simmons, who will wear No. 25 with the Clippers, was in the final year of a five-year, $177 million deal he originally signed with the Philadelphia 76ers before he was traded to the Nets in February 2022 in exchange for guard James Harden. Now, Simmons and Harden will be teammates in Los Angeles.

Ben Simmons’ new locker and number with the LA Clippers. (Photo credit: Ben Simmons / @bensimmons on Instagram)

It has been a tough road for Simmons, who missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to back issues and an ongoing battle with the 76ers. Over the better part of three seasons with the Nets, Simmons played in 90 games, averaging 6.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.2 rebounds.

Due to Simmons’ $40.3 million salary for this current season, he was ineligible to sign with any team above the first apron. The Clippers, due to some shrewd moves in recent days as the NBA trade deadline came and went this past Thursday, were not only under the first apron but the luxury tax as well.