The Nets are negotiating a buyout deal with guard/forward Ben Simmons, Shams Charania of ESPN reported.
According to Charania, the Cavaliers and the Clippers are two teams to keep an eye on for the former All-Star. Law Murray of The Athletic verified the Clippers’ interest on Thursday (link on Twitter).
The Rockets were also mentioned by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst as a possible suitor on Thursday’s NBA Today trade deadline broadcast (YouTube link).
Simmons signed a five-year, maximum-salary contract with Philadelphia in 2020, and he is currently in the last year of that deal. At this point, it’s unknown how much of the $40.34 million he owes this year he will forfeit in his buyout with the organization.
In the transaction that brought James Harden to Philadelphia, he was first traded to the Nets at the 2022 deadline. Simmons, however, didn’t play for the Nets until the 2022–2023 season after missing a portion of the season due to a back ailment.
Over the next three seasons, he played in just 90 games (69 starts) and averaged 6.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while only trying 5.3 shots per game. He didn’t end up playing much for Brooklyn.
Simmons still adds some excitement on the defensive end, even though he isn’t the same caliber of defender as he was in 2019–21, when he finished no lower than fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. They wouldn’t have to make room to sign him because the Cavaliers and Clippers both have at least one open roster space. Cody Zeller may be waived by the Rockets after their string of trade deadline moves is over, even though they do not currently have a roster slot available.
The Celtics, Nuggets, Lakers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Suns are the teams that cannot sign Simmons whenever he becomes a free agent because to apron regulations, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Since those seven teams fall into either the first or second tier, they are unable to sign players who earn more than the $12.8MM mid-level exemption.
Simmons’ departure from the Nets frees up a roster slot for the team. If they wanted to, they could convert one of their two-way players to a regular contract or see if there were any intriguing young prospects worth taking a chance on hit waivers. Tyrese Martin and Tosan Evbuomwan, both two-way players, have contributed in Brooklyn.
