The Brooklyn Nets and Ben Simmons are on the verge of seeing their three-year pairing come to an end.
Nets & Ben Simmons finalizing a buyout
On Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Nets are finalizing a buyout agreement with Simmons. He previously revealed that teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers are interested in his services.
Simmons regressed from his standout days with the Philadelphia 76ers. Between 2016 and 2022, the LSU product won the 2018 Rookie of the Year award, earned one All-NBA Third Team and two All-Defensive First Team nods, led the league in steals in 2020, and was named to three All-Star teams.
Simmons is a great playmaker for contenders to look into
After his Sixers were upset by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Simmons suffered a string of injuries after being dealt to the Nets midway through the 2021-22 campaign and has not been the same scorer since. However, he’s been equally as effective as a passer and rebounder, commensurate with his playing time.
This season, Simmons has averaged an impressive 6.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game in only 25 minutes of nightly action. That kind of productivity is hardly seen from many floor generals who see north of 30 minutes per contest.
- Warriors look to bounce back with four games remaining
- Warriors are on a roll ahead of the NBA Playoffs
- Knicks and Suns’ superstar had mutual interest at trade deadline
Simmons’ defense and boards could boost Cavs & Clips
Thus, he can be an elite second-unit option for a team like the Eastern Conference’s No. 1-seeded Cavaliers. They just made a major impact trade for De’Andre Hunter and can replace the departed Caris LeVert’s facilitation with Simmons coming in as a reserve.
The Clippers also could use a point guard behind James Harden after giving up Bones Hyland and Terance Mann for Bogdan Bogdanovic. The latter and Simmons could form a scary reserve backcourt behind Harden and Norman Powell while the 6-10 forward and Kawhi Leonard can form an imposing perimeter defensive front.
