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On a recent episode of The Young Man and The Three podcast, Ben Simmons was candid about all he's gone through with his back injuries. Simmons said there were times he wondered if he should retire while rehabbing after back surgery last year.

"There were times, last summer, when I was like, 'I don't know if I can do this. I might have to stop playing,'" Simmons said.

"I had to bring that up in conversation, and think about it, just because physically it's tough, but mentally it's just so hard to return from an injury like that and go through the process of rehabbing a second summer in a row," Simmons continued. "But like I said, it's day-by-day. You just take it day by day."

The Nets guard/forward said it was his mindset that got him through. Simmons knew he wasn't finished as a professional basketball player. He said the second back surgery he had made him feel like he had a "new body". That gave Simmons the edge to rebuild himself into playing shape again.

"I can't just stop. Like, I'm not just gonna stop. I wanna compete, I'm a competitor, I like to play basketball, I like to win," Simmons said about attacking his rehab. "And that was my time to win. I had so many losses in the last two and a half years. I was like, 'No, I need this one.'"

Via The Young Man and The Three

Zero chance he was walking away from that guaranteed contract. But sure, let's pretend otherwise.

Rek wrote:Zero chance he was walking away from that guaranteed contract. But sure, let's pretend otherwise.

He could've qualify for a medical retirement if it is bad enough.

Indomitable wrote:

Rek wrote:Zero chance he was walking away from that guaranteed contract. But sure, let's pretend otherwise.

He could've qualify for a medical retirement if it is bad enough.

Yeah, but that would mean he could never play again, even if his back/mind got right.

Ben Simmons praising his mindset.

You know what they say about self-praise.

Keep chasing those juicy guaranteed NBA dollars Ben.

then he realized the nets have to pay him 40 million

Pickled Prunes wrote:

Indomitable wrote:

Rek wrote:Zero chance he was walking away from that guaranteed contract. But sure, let's pretend otherwise.

He could've qualify for a medical retirement if it is bad enough.

Yeah, but that would mean he could never play again, even if his back/mind got right.

I could be wrong, but didn't LaMarcus Aldridge medically retire and then come back after being cleared a couple years later?

Maybe Alonzo Mourning too

Melwing wrote:

Pickled Prunes wrote:

Indomitable wrote:He could've qualify for a medical retirement if it is bad enough.

Yeah, but that would mean he could never play again, even if his back/mind got right.

I could be wrong, but didn't LaMarcus Aldridge medically retire and then come back after being cleared a couple years later?

Maybe Alonzo Mourning too

I just looked it up. I thought the burden was on the player, but it's actually on the team. If a player is granted a medical retirement, his salary is paid but not counted towards the cap. But... if he plays 25 NBA games, ever, for any NBA team, the money goes back on that team's salary cap retroactively. They would need to pay the tax on that.

The decision to apply for a medical retirement is not the players alone. The team and the player work together on it. If the team believes the player might come back and play again, they would probably just keep him on the books and try to get insurance to cover it. I don't think Simmons earned enough trust from PHI or BRK for them to go the medical retirement path.

I know Mourning was a kidney transplant but I don't know how his retirement was handled or what the CBA said back then. Aldridge was on a min deal, so either he took the financial hit or BRK did, but I don't believe it would have been worth the effort to file for medical retirement. There are some exceptions, but in general you can't file until one year after your last game.