Projected to be a top-2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Ben Simmons is weighing sneaker deals from both Adidas and Nike. Each company presented him with competitive offers, but Adidas offered Simmons a more incentivized contract. However even though the potential deal with Adidas will pay him more, Simmons is waiting until the results of Tuesday's Draft Lottery before deciding which company's sneaker he will be playing in and representing.
According to The Vertical's Nick DePaula, Simmons' decision to wait is because he and his agents are seeing where the Lakers end up in the lottery. Simmons wants to sign with Nike and he is hoping that if they are able to select him with their top pick, Nike will give him an even larger deal.
From DePaula:
Nike is offering $7.5 million over five years with fewer performance incentives than the adidas contract structure. Nike, which presented second to Simmons last week, has shown an unwillingness to budge, sources said. Both offers are considered fair for a top pick.
The early strategy from Simmons and his Klutch Sports Group representation was believed to be a desire to sign a shoe deal before the draft lottery, but they aren't satisfied with the Nike offer, sources said. They're hoping that if the Lakers land the top overall pick -- which they have a 19.9 percent chance of doing -- Nike will move closer to matching adidas' offer.
Simmons' preferred choice of Nike may be because his agency represents mainly Nike athletes like LeBron James. Klutch Sports has often waited out deals before, opting to sign at the most opportune moment -- as Tristan Thompson and Eric Bledsoe did when they were each signing new contracts -- so this is not a new tactic by the agency. And if it worked for Thompson and Bledsoe, it could very well work for Simmons.
This is of course banking on the Lakers actually selecting Simmons, which they may not do. But with the Lakers (as DePaula points out) having a strong chance to land a top pick and Simmons being one of the best players in the draft, this is a gamble that Klutch Sports and the Australian forward are willing to take.
