Ben Simmons has not been the player the Brooklyn Nets bought last year and according to a report, the Nets are ready to trade him off instead of waiting to end his contract next season. The team now considers him more of a liability than an asset.
After recovering from the injury that got him benched for almost all of 2021–2022, Simmons has barely been that beast of a player he used to be, and the Nets are not ready to wait around and help him through his midlife crisis, so they are finding buyers to take the burden off themselves.
Details via TPS;
Ben Simmons might find himself on the move yet again.
The Brooklyn Nets reportedly want to trade away former All-Star Ben Simmons as part of the deal that would send Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard to the Miami Heat, according to a report from Greg Sylvander
If the Nets plan on entering this trade, they at least want to rid themselves of Ben Simmons and his awful contract.
While the Nets would love to get off of the final two seasons of Simmons’ contract, there doesn’t seem to be much interest in the former No. 1 overall pick to this point.
Because of his lack of production, it’s understandable why teams are unwilling to take on the final two seasons of his contract. He’s due almost $38 million in the 2023-24 season and over $40 million in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Heat is certainly hoping that something can happen to bring Lillard to South Beach after they lost key players like Gabe Vincent and Max Strus.
Simmons missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a variety of factors, and he was traded to Brooklyn during that season in the deal that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft played in just 42 games for the Nets due to injuries. He has yet to return to the player he once was in Philadelphia.
During the 2022-23 campaign, Simmons averaged just 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 56.6 percent from the field.
Simmons is set to begin all over again, and I hope he is fit enough to prove himself to any other team he finds himself on this time around as he is too young to have his career slacking around already.
