{"id":103696,"date":"2024-10-29T06:59:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T10:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=103696"},"modified":"2024-10-29T06:59:09","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T10:59:09","slug":"nets-pg-a-knicks-buy-out-option-per-the-ringers-bill-simmons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/29\/nets-pg-a-knicks-buy-out-option-per-the-ringers-bill-simmons\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets PG A Knicks Buy-Out Option, Per The Ringer’s Bill Simmons"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0<\/span>Brooklyn Nets<\/span>\u00a0secured their first NBA season win on Sunday. However, the start of the season has not been kind to\u00a0<\/span>Ben Simmons<\/span><\/a>. The 2017-18 Rookie of the Year is struggling again despite an off-season of development and promise. The season is only just underway, but Simmons\u2019 future in Brooklyn is not concrete, which led <\/span>The Ringer’s<\/span><\/em> Bill Simmons to speculate where the struggling star might fit if the Nets move on from him this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ringer<\/em> Personality Taps NY Knicks as Possible Future Destination for Nets Star<\/h2>\n

Bill Simmons Envisions Ben Simmons in Manhattan<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>New York Knicks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0completed the off-season’s <\/span>biggest<\/span> trade just weeks before the 2024-25 NBA season started, acquiring\u00a0<\/span>Karl-Anthony Towns<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in exchange for\u00a0<\/span>Julius Randle<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Donte DiVincenzo<\/span><\/a>. Earlier in the summer, the Knicks acquired\u00a0<\/span>Mikal Bridges<\/span><\/a>\u00a0via trade from the Nets. The Knicks roster post-trades upgraded the team, but at the same time, one could argue the Knicks depth is left wanting. Bill Simmons, former ESPN personality now with\u00a0<\/span>The Ringer<\/span><\/em>,\u00a0<\/span>put out Monday on his podcast<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>The Bill Simmons Podcast<\/span><\/em>, that if the Knicks find themselves needing to add another piece down the road, Ben Simmons should be on their radar.<\/span><\/p>\n

His argument leans on Simmons being exactly what the Knicks need to fill their depth, although not in a trade scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m watching this Ben Simmons thing because if he can prove that he\u2019s healthy over the next three months \u2026 either\u2019s he\u2019s a trade or he\u2019s a buyout guy, but I actually think he could have an impact on the playoff race playing 18 to 20 minutes a game for a really good team.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Simmons would go on to say why he views Ben Simmons as that<\/em> impact player.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can handle the ball, he\u2019s a point guard with size, he can get to the rim,\u00a0He\u2019s an expiring contract at $40.3 million. Could they trade him? I went through every team; I don\u2019t see it…I think he has a chance to become one of the most fascinating February buyout guys\u2026he\u2019s kind of exactly what the Knicks need.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Nets trading Simmons seems like a stretch. His contract is relevant, yes. But what will be more relevant is the state of his health and game, which Bill Simmons alluded to. The Nets might find it challenging to shake hands with a trade partner. Buying out Simmons could become the more viable option if the Nets do, in fact, choose to move on from the three-time NBA All-Star.<\/p>\n

NY’s Depth Needs Could Rationalize Another Roster Addition<\/h3>\n

The Knicks already have\u00a0<\/span>Mitchell Robinson<\/span><\/a> lost likely until the new year. <\/span>Precious Achiuwa<\/span><\/a> also remains out, although his return timetable is more favorable than Robinson’s. Currently, Towns and <\/span>Jericho Sims<\/span><\/a>\u00a0share the center position. However, the <\/span>Knicks<\/span> depth still raises some questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was interesting that Bill Simmons liked the going to the rim part of Simmons\u2019 game. In fact, going to the basket is one of Ben Simmons’ weak points at this point in his career<\/a>. He certainly\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span><\/em> get to the rim, but will he? By the time the trade deadline rolls around, is it possible that Simmons has shown a different side of him that another team would be willing to take a chance on him? Time will tell, I suppose.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Knicks are certainly a team to consider for Ben Simmons, provided they don’t address their depth issues beforehand. He has size, can defend, and can still handle the ball skillfully. Perhaps he could fit right in with the Knicks. For now, it’s getting his complete game package in check while in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Brooklyn Nets\u00a0secured their first NBA season win on Sunday. However, the start of the season has not been kind to\u00a0Ben Simmons. The 2017-18 Rookie of the Year is struggling again despite an off-season of development and promise. The season is only just underway, but Simmons\u2019 future in Brooklyn is not concrete, which led The Ringer’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5081,"featured_media":103761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,6,62,12],"tags":[266,49341,49340,1553,979,4386,510,213,1484,1616,639,3073,3148,49567],"class_list":["post-103696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nets","category-nba","category-knicks","tag-ben-simmons","tag-bill-simmons","tag-bill-simmons-podcast","tag-donte-divincenzo","tag-espn","tag-jericho-sims","tag-julius-randle","tag-karl-anthony-towns","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-mitchell-robinson","tag-nba-all-star","tag-nba-rookie-of-the-year","tag-precious-achiuwa","tag-the-ringer"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5081"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}