Philadelphia offers Ben Simmons richest ever sporting deal for an Aussie

A report claims Ben Simmons has been offered a mind-blowing new max contract that smashes records for Australian athletes.

Ben Simmons got his own Woj Bomb.

The Philadelphia 76ers have offered Australia’s Ben Simmons an historic new $US168 million ($A240.4 million) contract.

If, as expected, the 22-year-old accepts the maximum five-year contract extension it will be the richest deal signed by an Australian athlete. ESPN reported on Tuesday the 76ers and Simmons’ agent Rich Paul “are expected to work through the details toward an eventual agreement”.

Philadelphia has offered a five-year, $168M maximum contract extension to Ben Simmons and the Sixers and agent Rich Paul are expected to work through the details toward an eventual agreement, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2019

Simmons will likely pocket more cash with the NBA’s new salary cap projections expected to bump it up to $US170 million ($A243.2million).

The deal instantly eclipses Andrew Bogut as the highest earning Aussie in the NBA. The Sydney Kings centre reportedly received salary payments of more than $117 million in his veteran NBA career. Ben Simmons’ new deal will have him covered in less than four years.

The 76ers’ faith in the Australian comes despite the team suffering consecutive second-round playoff departures in the past two seasons.

It also comes as Simmons is reluctant to shoot the ball from distance, which goes against the modern NBA where three-point shooting from point guards through to centres has become crucial.

The 76ers have had mixed success since free agency opened on Sunday. The team was unable to retain All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler, who is joining the Miami Heat, and sharpshooter JJ Redick who moved to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ben Simmons is getting paid.

The team did retain forward Tobias Harris and in a potentially significant move signed Al Horford, the All-Star big man who had been a Philadelphia nemesis while playing for the Boston Celtics.

Simmons still had a year to go on his rookie contract, but the 76ers wanted the extension to lock in the athletic point-forward and triple-double machine. The 76ers are one of the favourites to not only win the Eastern Conference next season but take the championship after the Golden State Warriors were weakened by the departure of Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets, trading away veteran Andre Iguodala while guard Klay Thompson is expected to miss most of the regular season with a serious knee injury.

There is a very real path to a championship for Simmons and his team.

In just two NBA seasons, Simmons already has an All-Star nod to his name and averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists last year. Should he continue to develop, the 22-year old figures to be a superstar for the duration of the extension.

The question for the Sixers now becomes one of shooting. A starting lineup that includes Simmons, new signing Al Horford, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid, despite a high level of talent, is one that could potentially lack enough shooting.

Still, the Sixers will hope the star power of their new big three outweighs any concerns