From a maximum salary of 40 million to a minimum salary of 3.3 million, but now I hate the basic salary! Maybe you really should retire.

There is only one month left before the start of the NBA new season preseason, and all teams in the league are working hard to improve their lineup. The free market is also coming to an end, but there are two former "big brands" in the league that have fallen into an embarrassing situation - Westbrook and Ben Simmons. They have become the "extreme sample" of the free market. One regards basketball as an important part of his life, and the other is not on the court for a long time, but he cannot find his next home for the same reason: he dislikes the veteran's basic salary and desires a higher contract. However, when they fell from a maximum salary player with an annual salary of more than 40 million to a situation where they could only get a minimum salary of about 3.3 million, but still unwilling to accept reality, perhaps they should really think seriously: Is it time to retire with a decent retirement?

Look at Westbrook, the career of this NBA history triple-double king was once brilliant enough. He was selected into the All-Star 9 times and the Best Team 9 times, holding the regular season MVP and All-Star MVP. Even if he failed to win the championship in his career, he was still an undisputed Hall of Fame-level player and an official NBA certified "75 super giants in history". At his peak, Westbrook regarded the Thunder as his home, and wrote his own legend with violent breakthroughs, extreme impact and "never stop" desire to win. At that time, he was one of the most adorable players in the league and a "monster" who can average triple-double per game in a single season. His super maximum salary of 46.3 million yuan was the best recognition of his strength.

But when Westbrook took the initiative to leave Thunder, his career trajectory took a sharp turn. The decline in the state brought by age is visible to the naked eye. In the season when the Rockets and Harden were partnering, the two were inefficient when they were on the court at the same time, and the conflict of ball rights and the inconsistency between playing styles made the "double MVP combination" ended hastily; when he moved to the Wizards, although he led the team to play the miracle of the playoffs, Bill also advised him to "don't be impulsive and don't endure the spotlight in the big market", Westbrook still couldn't stop. Until he joined the Lakers, his shortcomings were completely exposed to the public's vision: the ball must be in hand to play, and once he loses the ball, it will become a "side effect" on the court; the number of mistakes has remained high for many years, and the key rounds of key games are frequently "lagged"; his playing style is single and he has no shooting ability, and his opponent will even let him go a few meters away and focus on defending other teammates. Westbrook was labeled as a "collar workplace cancer" at that time. The Lakers finally sent him ruthlessly to the Jazz, and his maximum salary career came to an end.

Then he went to the Clippers and the Nuggets. Jokic and the Nuggets gave him a second chance. A two-year contract of 6.8 million was his last window to prove himself. In the series against the Clippers last season, Westbrook did show his value, and his impact and role as a locker room leader were reflected. But immediately after the series against the Thunder, the Nuggets lost 92 points in a net loss - you should know that the Nuggets lost 64 points in a total of 7 games in the entire series. The key battle at the end of the regular season was a disaster-level performance: against the Timberwolves, he made a key three-point foul, ruining Jokic's miracle of 60+ triple-double; against the Spurs, he made continuous mistakes, and the passes could be thrown directly into the audience, layups and even timers. Even so, Westbrook was still unwilling to accept his old age and refused to admit defeat. In the end, the Nuggets had to fire the head coach Malone who trusted him.

In mid-June this year, Westbrook naively took the initiative to break out of the second year's player option, thinking that with his performance in the Nuggets, he could get at least a contract of 5 million to 8 million. But reality gave him a heavy blow: almost three months have passed, and no team in the league has extended an olive branch to him. US media have long calculated that Westbrook's total salary in his career has reached 350 million yuan, plus endorsement and business investment, his wealth exceeds 500 million US dollars, and he is not even less than the difference between a basic salary of 3.6 million yuan and a contract of 5 million yuan. What he disliked was never money, but the positioning of "the lowest-level role in the league" behind the basic salary - he was unwilling to be a marginal player, unwilling to let it go, and unwilling to become an unknown small character.

But the league's attitude has already said everything: the team that has experienced Westbrook, whether it is Tyron Lou or the Nuggets general manager, praised him in public for his "good character and good attitude", but in private he had a tacit understanding: "You sign and recommend it, it is impossible for me to sign." The only Kings who are still obsessed with him are also a mess: they want to send Monk away to make room for salary, they want Kumingga and sign Westbrook, but they are reluctant to give the Warriors an unprotected first round; they want to send Devin Carter away, but they can't find the next one. Even if Westbrook eventually joined the King, the character waiting for him was just "a substitute for Schroeder" - a far cry from the positioning of "core rotation" he longed for, let alone the marginal role he was unwilling to accept.

If Westbrook's "dislikes the basic salary" still carries his obsession with basketball, then Simmons' "rejecting the basic salary" is more like an escape from reality. As the 2016 NBA No. 1 pick, Simmons' starting point is also very high: he was elected Rookie of the Year in 2018, was selected as the All-Star for three consecutive years from 2019 to 21, and became the second best defensive player of the year in 2021. Early in his career, he was the top passer and defender in the league. With his outstanding organizational skills and defensive coverage, he became one of the core of the 76ers' "Five Death" system. In 2019, he even signed a maximum salary renewal agreement based on a rookie contract with the 76ers (effective in the 2020-25 season). At that time, his annual salary was close to 40 million, and he was recognized as the "Future Star" in the league.

But today, Simmons is no longer the genius he used to be. Many back surgeries seriously affected his condition, and even if he played healthy, his offensive performance plummeted. Although Simmons has never been good at shooting in his career, he was at least willing to try to shoot in the early days, but his number of shots per 36 minutes has been decreasing year by year: there are 13.2 more in the 2017-18 season, and it has dropped to 7.2 times by the 2024-25 season. The negative attitude on the offensive end made him from the "organizational core" to the "offensive black hole". The conflicts with the team during the 76ers and the refusal to play made his reputation plummet.. In February this year, he reached a buyout agreement with the Nets and then joined the Clippers with a minimum salary of less than 100% but even so, he failed to prove himself in the Clippers. Instead, he further confirmed his position as a "basic player".

What is even more embarrassing is that Simmons' off-field life is in sharp contrast with his on-field performance. When he was holding the maximum salary, he frequently showed off his luxury houses and luxury cars, and lived a top-notch luxury life. Such a life requires stable high income support, which also made him unable to accept the sharp drop in income brought by the "basic salary". So when the Knicks offered him a one-year veteran base salary contract during the offseason, he refused without hesitation - you should know that the Knicks' salary space is close to the hard salary cap and he cannot give a contract higher than the base salary at all. Famous reporter Stein revealed that the Celtics are another team interested in Simmons, but because their salary is close to the luxury tax line, the Celtics can only provide a basic salary.

The worse signal is that Simmons' agent Bernie Lee has terminated his contract, and the three-time All-Star player has not yet been 100% sure whether he will continue his career. On the one hand, his strength is no longer worthy of expectations and can only get a basic salary; on the other hand, he is unwilling to accept basic salary and eager for a higher contract; on the other hand, he is hesitant about whether to continue playing - Simmons' current situation is no longer a question of "whether you can get a high salary", but a question of "whether you are still suitable to stay in the NBA".

Whether it is Westbrook or Simmons, their dilemma is essentially "cognitive bias in their own positioning." The NBA is a business league, and salary is always linked to strength and contribution. When Westbrook's mistakes and lack of projection have already overshadowed his impact and desire to win; when Simmons' offense is negative and his state has declined, he has lost his former organizational and defensive value, the league team will naturally no longer pay for their "past fame". Their drop from a maximum salary of 40 million to a basic salary of 3.3 million is not the "unfairness" of the alliance, but the inevitable result of changes in their career stages.