Celtics, Knicks Competing For Same Free Agent?

The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics are interested in the same free agent.

Multiple reports, including ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, connected the Celtics to Ben Simmons last week. Not everyone monitoring the Celtics’ offseason was thrilled with the news.

The 29-year-old Simmons is certainly a risky addition for the team that lands him, and that appears to be a gamble that both the Celtics and the Knicks are interested in taking. SNY’s Ian Begley reiterated New York’s interest in Simmons on Thursday.

“Ben Simmons is certainly a candidate for the Knicks’ final roster spot,” Begley wrote. “As of earlier this week, New York continued to show strong interest in signing Simmons as teams in on Simmons await his decision. He’s garnered interest from several teams around the league.”

The Phoenix Suns were the other team initially linked to Simmons.

The former No. 1 overall pick appeared in just 17 games for the Los Angeles Clippers last season after joining the team in February on a one-year, $1.08 million deal. Simmons averaged 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game for LA, logging a little over 16 minutes per game.

It’s unclear what is delaying Simmons’s decision; perhaps he is waiting to see if further suitors emerge? If it is playing time that concerns Simmons the most, he’d likely prefer joining the Celtics over the Knicks, as Boston is entering the 2025-26 season with less talent and depth than New York, presumably equating to more opportunities for Simmons.

The Knicks have already made two nice offseason additions in Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, both of whom are expected to feature heavily in their rotation. That leaves New York with at least nine surefire members of its rotation, if one assumes that Miles McBride will continue to get quality bench minutes alongside Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks are expected to roll out the same starting five as last season: Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Meanwhile, the Celtics don’t have a ton of guaranteed starters on their roster outside of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.