A pair of Australian NBA talents are yet to sign their next deals, as the 2025 off-season marches on.
Ben Simmons reportedly had four teams of interest, but two of these possible options have been debunked by experts as he looks to revitalise his career following a quiet finish with the Los Angeles Clippers last season.
For Josh Giddey, his hopes of becoming the Chicago Bulls point guard of the future look less likely by the day, as his standoff with General Manager Artūras Karnišovas and the Chicago front office continues.
Ben Simmons inches towards new deal
Ben Simmons is reportedly narrowing down his next NBA team, with two Eastern Conference contenders out of the race.
The Boston Celtics look unlikely to sign Simmons, according to Celtics expert Bobby Manning, who said that roster constraints will keep the Australian off the team.
"If Celtics sign Ben Simmons, they're effectively committing to 15 players to start the year which they haven't done in some time," Manning wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"Unless they have a path in mind to further downsizing payroll in September/later, or adjusting the roster, I don't see it unless they love him..."
The 2016 number one pick was also linked to the New York Knicks, but that has also been rejected by Athlon's Sean Deveney, who reported that an anonymous GM said the team was 'a long shot' to land him.
"Of the places he [Simmons] could land, they’d [Knicks] be at the bottom of the list. They’re the long shot," Deveney wrote.
"He does not want the scrutiny. And they want to have room to use the whole roster, that’s one reason they got rid of [coach Tom Thibodeau]. If you’re bringing in a veteran who is hurt half the season, it’s going to prevent you from seeing what you’ve got with your young guys."
With Marc Stein reporting that Boston and New York were two of the four teams interested in Simmons, it appears that one of the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings are now likely to sign him.
Josh Giddey extension not near
A player who was expected to be one of the first names off the board this off-season, Josh Giddey's standoff with the Chicago Bulls has continued, with the Australian reportedly not moving off of his desire to earn US$30 million per year.
According to Jake Fischer, this has led to significant tension between the two parties, who said that Giddey and the Bulls are "the most strained of all of these dynamics", in reference to the remaining restricted free agents.
This is despite the team appearing to indicate that they want the Aussie long term, telling Sportrac's Keith Smith at Summer League that he remains a key part of their future plans.
"We want to get a deal done with Josh," said a Bulls front office executive, according to Smith.
"He’s as important of a player as we have. We see him as a foundational player for us.
"I hope we can find a deal that makes sense for us and him and that we’ll be together for a long time."
Giddey is one of a number of restricted free agents yet to sign a deal, including Golden State's Jonathon Kuminga and Brooklyn's Cam Thomas.