Rich Paul backs Simmons for $30 million comeback

• ‍'He wants to': Ben Simmons' Boomers desire for LA28‍
• The Ballard of Aussie Benjamin David Simmons
• 'Healthy' Ben Simmons putting 'Heat' on comeback
• Ben's Boomers bombshell: 'We're not going to beg'

Super agent Rich Paul has thrown shade at NBA bigs in his assessment of Australian Ben Simmons' potential return in 2026-27.

Paul, who is essentially on a propaganda tour for LeBron James' free agency, told Max Kellerman on their podcast that Simmons, 29, could “still be a $30,000,000 NBA player”.

“I remember having a conversation, me and Ben talking. I said, ‘Ben, you got so much left in the tank, bro. If you just become a pick-and-roll five at the end of games, because your playmaking ability makes you a different rolling big’,” Paul said.

“We see so many rolling bigs with low IQ. You actually have a high IQ. We know he was all first-team All-Defense.

“If you just become that, where you're rolling down the lane, dunk, man rotates over, kick to the... if you just become that, you're a $30 million player.”

Point-forward Simmons revealed last week he had spoken to NBA head coaches who have told him “if he’s healthy, he has a spot.”

“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realising that my abilities will be needed,” he told Men’s Health magazine.

“I don’t have a plan on where.”

Related: Rich Paul explains why Ben Simmons’ career stalled after achieving everything he wanted early.

Simmons missed last season after his deal with the Los Angeles Clippers expired. The free agent received a one-year minimum contract offer from the New York Knicks before the start of the 2025-26 season, which he has rejected.

He bought into the South Florida Sails and won an angling championship in May 2026. But now he’s ready for a comeback, spending the past eight months fishing in Florida.

“Maybe I’ll go back to Philly,” he said.

“Miami would be nice. And not because it’s Miami – I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organisation, I like the culture.”

The rumblings are getting louder that Simmons will chase a roster spot next season and push for Boomers selection for the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Boomers centre and leader Jock Landale declared “the invite's always there” for Simmons to rejoin the national team, but “we're not going to beg” for the return of the NBA All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year.

Simmons, who will turn 30 on July 20, has told Men’s Health magazine he has been talking to NBA head coaches who have told him “if he’s healthy, he has a spot.”

“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realising that my abilities will be needed,” he said.

“I don’t have a plan on where.”

Landale, 30, and the Boomers are preparing for the 2027 FIBA Men's World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“As for Ben's relationship with the Boomers, from what I understand, there's a bit of history there,” Landale told Dyl & Friends.

“I wasn't involved back then, and I don't hold any judgment towards it.

“I would've loved to have had him along many times. I don't know where he sits with basketball right now.

“I see him working out every now and again.

“I think it's one of those things where we'd love to have him if he's ready to go, healthy, mentally in a good spot and willing, like everyone else, to buy into the Boomers culture. But if not, no hard feelings.

“He could've helped us a lot at times. It would've been cool to come home with a few more medals with his help.

“But that's reality. We're not going to beg.

“We've got this thing where if you want to be a part of it, you're there.

“It's just that simple. The invite's there. The invite's always there.”