{"id":121285,"date":"2025-01-31T18:55:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T23:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=121285"},"modified":"2025-01-31T18:55:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T23:55:54","slug":"ben-simmons-buyout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/31\/ben-simmons-buyout\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Simmons Could Approach the Nets for Buyout"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA trade deadline is less than a week away, and numerous stories have dominated NBA headlines. The Nets have been one of the most involved teams during this trade deadline, not only freeing up cap space but also trading away players in hopes of gaining future draft picks. The latest rumor involves Nets forward Ben Simmons<\/a> eyeing a buyout.<\/p>\n

Ben Simmons Could Approach the Nets for Buyout<\/h2>\n

In February 2022, the Nets acquired the three-time All-Star in a deal that sent James Harden<\/a> to the Philadelphia 76ers.\u00a0He is in the final year of his $177 million contract with the Nets. This season, he will earn $40.3 million and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.<\/p>\n

For the past three seasons, back injuries have affected Simmons’ playing time on the Nets. This season, he has played 30 of the team\u2019s 47 games and is averaging 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game. Nets’ coach Jordi Fernandez<\/a> has limited Simmons’ playing time to ensure he does not play back-to-back games. As a result, this strategy helps Simmons rest his back and avoid further injury.<\/p>\n

Ben Simmons Eyeing A Buyout<\/h3>\n

In December, Sports Illustrated’s Kyler Fox reported<\/a> that the Nets would not consider<\/a> reaching a buyout agreement on Simmons\u2019 contract. However recently, Brett Siegel<\/a> of ClutchPoints, reported that Simmons could approach the Nets about a buyout so he could join a contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been some talk amongst teams that Ben Simmons will approach the Brooklyn Nets for a buyout to join a playoff-contending team. League sources told ClutchPoints around the holiday season that the Nets were not interested in a buyout with Simmons. It seems like this situation will come down to whether Simmons approaches the team about one, something that has yet to be discussed between the two parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst mentioned <\/a>Simmons as a potential candidate for a contract buyout and said he could be someone the Cleveland Cavaliers pursued in the buyout market.<\/p>\n

A Fit For Other Teams<\/h3>\n

Simmons would fit perfectly with other teams needing a versatile player who can play defense and facilitate. Teams like the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, and Memphis Grizzlies are ideal fits.\u00a0He could add value as a playmaker, with passing, screening, and defense. As a veteran, he can provide leadership to the younger players. Additionally, he has proven this year on the Nets that he is willing to take on different roles.<\/p>\n

The buyout market has helped veteran players and former superstars pursue an NBA championship and restart their careers. If Simmons seeks a buyout, he will aim to sign with a championship-contending team to compete for a title.<\/p>\n

Simmons and the Nets<\/h3>\n

The Nets currently have 30 draft picks between 2025 and 2031. No NBA team has expressed interest in trading for Simmons due to his expensive contract. However, Simmons has made it clear he wants to play and win <\/a>which could ultimately lead to a buyout. Anything can happen in the NBA. Expect surprises in the days leading up to the trade deadline. For now, we will wait to see what takes place between Simmons and the Nets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u00a9 Rob Gray-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NBA trade deadline is less than a week away, and numerous stories have dominated NBA headlines. The Nets have been one of the most involved teams during this trade deadline, not only freeing up cap space but also trading away players in hopes of gaining future draft picks. The latest rumor involves Nets forward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5340,"featured_media":121318,"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":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,6,62],"tags":[266,49161],"class_list":["post-121285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nets","category-nba","tag-ben-simmons","tag-jordi-fernandez"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121285","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\/5340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121323,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121285\/revisions\/121323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}