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Lakers Rumors: Ben Simmons Waiting on Lakers’ Fate Before Signing Shoe Deal

By Eric Yee

Jan 13, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) drives in against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) drives in against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Looks like Lakers fans aren’t the only ones eagerly awaiting the results of the NBA draft lottery and subsequent draft

For the majority of the NCAA season, Ben Simmons was the consensus player to go number one overall in the upcoming draft. But with the draft just a month away, Simmons’ spot at the top of the mountain is currently questionable at best.

However, even with Simmons’ decision to skip the NBA Draft Combine, the 6’10, 19 year old is still making headlines but not necessarily for basketball reasons.

According to Nick DePaula of The Vertical, Simmons has two sneaker deals on the table — one with Nike for $7.5 million over five years, another with Adidas for $10 million plus a $2 million signing bonus and additional incentives also over five years — but the LSU prospect has put signing an endorsement on hold in order to see if he is drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Simmons is a well-known Nike fan, wearing LeBron’s sneakers nearly every game at LSU, so where he’d like to sign is pretty obvious. Add this to the fact that he is represented by the same company that represents James and it becomes even more clear.

That said, DePaula suggests that Simmons’ team believes he can get more money if he somehow ends up in Los Angeles… and people say market size doesn’t matter.

"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. . . Point guard D’Angelo Russell went to the Lakers last year as the second overall pick, and Nike upped its offer considerably to prevent Russell from signing with adidas. Russell agreed to a deal worth $1.2 million annually."

This is nowhere near the $90 million payday King James signed with Nike in 2003 upon entering the league but then again, Simmons is no LeBron James.

Though details about his rookie deal were kept relatively under wraps, seeing as LeBron recently signed a lifetime deal with Nike in 2015, it can be assumed that James was making upwards of $7.5 million a year from his initial deal.

Simmons will be one step closer to knowing the Lakers’ plans when the NBA draft lottery concludes on May 17.

Next: NBA Draft Lottery: Best and Worst Case Scenario for Lakers

Translation: None of this matters if the Lakers fall out of the top three on Tuesday afternoon.

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