The Philadelphia 76ers has reached a five-year contract extension worth 170 million U.S. dollars with one of their twin stars, Australian point guard/forward Ben Simmons, reported Shams Charania of The Athletic who said he learned the news from Simmons' agent Rich Paul.

As the 76ers confirmed the deal on Wednesday, Simmons announced his decision not to play at the coming FIBA Basketball World Cup on behalf of Australia.

"I wanted to let everyone know that after consulting with my representation, I’ve made the difficult decision to forego playing in the World Cup in China this summer… Ultimately, we decided it was best that I use the time in September to return to Philadelphia to acquaint myself with my new teammates and prepare for the upcoming NBA season," wrote Simmons in his statement on social media.

The good news for Boomers fans is that Simmons is willing to play for his country at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. "I’m really excited about the talent we have on the Boomers squad, especially moving closer to 2020 where I will be honored and humbled to represent my country on the world’s biggest sporting stage at the Olympics in Tokyo."

Simmons, 22, is not only the second of the 2016 NBA Draft to receive a maximum contract extension – after Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets who also got the same deal, but also will have the biggest contract ever for an Australian athlete.

The latest money-throwing act of the 76ers just created the most expensive starting-lineup in NBA history. The team's five expected starting players next season – Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Josh Richardson – will make up a squad whose total contracts are worth 650 million U.S. dollars.

Simmons still has two years of his rookie contract left with Philadelphia which, via the new deal, will be able to keep one of their twin stars and future leaders – the other is Embiid – for another seven years.

Simmons averaged the 2018-19 season with 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals. Considering that he had to share ball possession with Harris and Jimmy Butler (who has already left), Simmons actually improved his performance on court and was rewarded with the first All-Star Game in his career.

Standing at 2.08 meters and weighing 104 kilograms, Simmons is a mismatch for both point guard (because he is too big) and power forward (because he is too fast). Moreover, he is also an underestimated defender. The 76ers had him defend Kawhi Leonard in the series against the Toronto Raptors and Simmons made the 2019 Finals MVP very uncomfortable.

However, though Simmons has already shown his influence on the court with his orchestrating ability and defense, he still has an important task to finish before he can meet people's expectations on him to be the next LeBron James: to improve his individual offense.

With his strength, quickness and finishing skills in the paint, Simmons is already a threat to most teams' defense with his penetration. Nonetheless, that ceases to work when the opponent chooses to close in to keep him from assaulting the rim directly. Simmons tried to respond to that by launching more attacks in the low block via posting up but that's not the real solution for two reasons: firstly, he is, in general, an outside player; secondly, Embiid is a far more powerful weapon than Simmons in the low block and he needs space.

Simmons' problem comes from his biggest weakness – lack of shooting range. He is no threat either from the 3-point line or in the middle range. With him on the court, Philadelphia have to understand that they are actually outnumbered by the opponent's defense because no one will even look at Simmons as long as he is not in the paint. However, he is also too valuable to be benched. No one is asking him to become Stephen Curry or Richard Hamilton in one season but at least he needs to make the defense pay for leaving him open instead of just watching his defender take care of his teammates four meters away.