Tom Thibodeau never leaned into spacing out the Knicks' offense, something many thought would unlock the best of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. When the Knicks hired Mike Brown to replace Thibodeau, the hope was that he would be more flexible in that regard. SNY's Ian Begley reported the Knicks have continued to touch base with Ben Simmons in free agency, a move that would only hurt the Knicks' ability to space the floor at an optimal level.
Simmons' career decline has been sharp. That said, he still can provide value to a team. He has elite size for someone who is able to handle the ball and pass at a high level, a combination that makes him an effective point-center in today's NBA.
On top of that, he provides great rebounding ability and defensive versatility. His size and quickness allow him to effectively guard any position on the floor, from smaller, faster guards, all the way up to bigger and stronger traditional centers.
The glaring issue in Simmons' game, one that has haunted him throughout his entire career, is his failure to ever develop any semblance of a jump shot. There is also the general fear of attacking the rim because he doesn't want to have to get to the free-throw line.
Simmons would compound the Knicks' biggest issues
If the Knicks were to bring Simmons on board with their remaining veteran minimum contract, it would all but guarantee that they would be playing some combination of two different bigs for the entire game. Now, that would likely help their defense and rebounding, but it would kill their spacing on offense.
Last season, the Knicks were never able to get the Brunson and Towns pick-and-roll game to work effectively. It started hot, before disappearing down the stretch and in the playoffs. Bringing in another non-shooter, especially one who would probably need a guarantee of playing time, just makes that problem likely to occur again.
So far, the Knicks have done a good job of adding impactful players, like Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, both of whom have the ability to shoot and keep the floor spaced. Adding Simmons would be taking a step in the opposite direction.
There are better options
If the Knicks do not feel comfortable filling their remaining roster spot with one of their summer league players, they would be better off using their veteran minimum to bring back either Landry Shamet or Cameron Payne.