Although the chances were low, the LA Clippers hoped that signing Ben Simmons to a new conference, with a change of scenery, would spark the old version of himself to come alive on a veteran minimum contract. Hence, the Clippers signed him after a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets and had plans to keep him for an extended period had he performed well against the Denver Nuggets in the postseason.
However, Simmons was an offensive liability, and once the postseason ended, the front office indirectly made it clear that his spot as the team's backup guard-center would be taken by someone else this summer.