It appears that Ben Simmons will play for a new franchise in the upcoming 2023-24 season.
Per The Miami Heat insider Greg Sylvander, the Brooklyn Nets could be the third team that would send Damian Lillard to the Heat in what will surely go down as the blockbuster trade of the summer.
The Nets are looking to ship out Ben Simmons in a 3-team deal involving the Brooklyn, Miami and Portland, per @GregSylvander
(Via @5ReasonsSports ) pic.twitter.com/dKh4NIpzwi
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 4, 2023
If the Nets indeed enter the deal and manage to help the Heat land Lillard, it may come with the play of sending Simmons to a different team. The guard has two years remaining on his $177 million deal. Earlier, NBA insider Brian Windhorst called it the worst contract ever in the league.
“No one is saying that the Nets had a great option,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s NBA Crosscourt. “But when you look at his contract Ben Simmons owed nearly 80 million dollars over the next two years and hasn’t been able to finish this season or the last season. His future is completely undecided, and he recently broke up with his agent. The Nets have to try to figure out how to move forward with Simmons. It is pretty much inarguably the worst contract in the NBA right now.”
Simmons played 42 games for the Nets this season and averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 boards, and 6.1 assists — his career-lowest numbers. He last played on February 15 before suffering from nerve impingement in his back.
With these numbers and a rather heavy contract, the Blazers or the Heat taking on Simmons looks unlikely, but maybe the Nets can throw in some draft capital to make the deal more feasible. Now, it remains to be seen if the Nets can move Simmons this offseason.
Draymond Green Sympathizes With Ben Simmons’ Lean Patch
The trade buzz aside, Ben Simmons garnered immense flak for his below-par form for the last two seasons, and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green believes the lean patch is something he understands and sympathizes with.
“You’ve seen people lose confidence in their game. You’re like, ‘Yo, what happened to him.’ Like Ben Simmons… He’s still the same Ben Simmons we watched dominate in Philly. The only difference between Ben Simmons in Philly and Ben Simmons now? Confidence… I know how it feels to lose confidence because I lost confidence in my shot… You’re the same person that was going out there and would get 15 assists before someone blinked, and yet you don’t feel that you can do that no more because your confidence is gone.”
Come the new season, the hope will be for Simmons to regain the form that has dodged him for some time now. His latest activities on social media see him putting in the work and still getting trolled, but honestly, it will be great to see him be the Simmons of old.
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