Ben Simmons in spotlight after Brooklyn Nets’ bombshell trade

The Nets sent a “signal” to the rest of the NBA with a blockbuster trade and it means Ben Simmons will be thrust into the limelight.

The Nets were playing well at the start of this season, too well. For a team that had shipped away Mikal Bridges in the summer, receiving a haul of first-round picks in the process, the expectation was that Brooklyn would be cellar dwellers for most of the 2024-25 season.

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That was especially true given the Bridges trade came after arguably an even clearer sign that the Nets were ready to tank on draft day, when Brooklyn reacquired the rights to its 2025 and 2026 first-round picks in a deal with the Rockets.

But in Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson and Dennis Schroder, the Nets had some handy veteran role players who, alongside the scoring punch of lead guard Cam Thomas, helped keep the offence afloat.

Meanwhile, even if they weren’t necessarily the most talented team on paper, the Nets were also finding ways to outwork and outhustle their opponents on the defensive end too.

That was despite a mounting injury toll which, in theory, should have anchored Brooklyn to the bottom of the Eastern Conference amid one of the league’s tougher early schedules.

Instead, the Nets had a 5-8 record in mid-November which, while not spectacular, was certainly not any guarantee to lock them into the top of the lottery, especially given the state of the Eastern Conference.

In other words, unless they made some moves the Nets weren’t going anywhere. They weren’t going up, not quite good enough to be a legitimate contender, and they certainly weren’t playing poorly enough to completely bottom out.

Simmons is now in the spotlight after the trade. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

But multiple NBA insiders maintained at the time that the Nets still were planning to blow it up, likely in December and would look to deal their veteran trio to really kickstart the tank.

Well, that prediction appears to be accurate based on Sunday’s development, which saw Schroder and a second-round pick traded to Golden State for De’Anthony Melton, Reece Beekman and three second-rounders.

It comes after ESPN also reported that the Nets had received trade interest and “opened exploratory conversations” around Johnson and Finney-Smith.

Those moves may not be imminent, but it seems like discussions are already underway which could see the veteran duo moved and the Nets only further bolster their lottery odds.

Johnson in particular could be a valuable 3&D piece for any contender league-wide and should draw plenty of interest, averaging 18.8 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 43.4 percent from deep.

Speaking to reporters after the Schroder trade, Nets general manager Sean Marks said that the “ultimate goal is long-term, sustainable success”.

“So we’re weighing a lot of factors in here,” he added.

“It’s never easy to see one of your own leave but at the same time looking at the big picture here this is what’s best for our organisation long term.”

So, they’re tanking without actually saying the word.

Although Erik Slater, a reporter from Clutch Points and host of Bleav in Nets, was more than happy to point out the trade for what it is on the latest episode of his podcast.

“This trade,” he said, “is less about the details and more about sending a signal to Nets fans and the rest of the NBA that the tank is on”.

If that is the case, from an Australian perspective, the next question is what it could mean for Ben Simmons, whose $40 million-plus expiring contract could make him an appealing trade chip.

What will the Nets firesale mean for Ben Simmons? (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

NBA insider Jake Fischer called Simmons a “fascinating name” to monitor in a recent live stream for Bleacher Report, not so much in the sense that a team could trade for Simmons the player but because his contract could help them free up cap space for next offseason.

Although as Fischer also went to point out, it would be a matter of whether that team would be willing to give up either future draft capital or a promising young player as part of the deal to entice the Nets to take on a bad long-term contract.

“Would a team out there come February be interested in trying to send a contract back to Brooklyn that maybe is a young player, maybe is someone that has upside moving forward, that maybe Brooklyn felt they could rehabilitate or potentially flip for more than Simmons down the line,” Fischer said.

Interestingly, ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks included New Orleans’ Zion Williamson as one of his 10 players to watch ahead of the trade deadline.

It comes after reports that Williamson is finally available to acquire via trade amid another injury-interrupted season for a Pelicans team that is quickly going nowhere fast.

“If they do move him, the Pelicans can acquire expiring contracts and perhaps a future first-round pick,” Marks wrote.

While this does not sound like reporting and more seems to be a suggestion of what Williamson could be worth on the trade market, the Nets with Simmons’ expiring contract and plenty of draft capital could at least be worth monitoring as a potential landing spot.

Simmons could be included in a trade. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

Simmons would give the Pelicans some much-needed financial flexibility while a first-round pick would also help a rebuild of sorts, while Williamson is, going back to Fischer’s comments, a young player with upside that the Nets could rehabilitate or potentially flip.

Although at this point given his lengthy injury history and question marks over his conditioning, Williamson may not be the kind of young player Brooklyn is after, especially if this is a rebuild that may only see the Nets be truly competitive in a few years.

Elsewhere one bookmaker, BetOnline, sent social media into a spin after it named the defending champion Boston Celtics as the favourites to land Simmons in a trade or buyout.

Although the Celtics literally can’t acquire Simmons by either of those two methods as they are a second-apron team.

That means they can’t aggregate players to match Simmons’ salary and can only do a one-for-one trade, which would involve moving Jaylen Brown. That isn’t happening.

As for a buyout, again second-apron teams are also not able to sign any players that have been bought out who are on more than the mid-level exception ($12.822 million).

The Suns, Timberwolves and Bucks are the three other teams who are currently over the second apron, according to spotrac, and thus also restricted in the moves they can make via trade or on the buyout market.

The Celtics are the favorites to land Ben Simmons if the Nets end up trading or buying him out, per @BetOnline_ag.

(h/t @CTabatabaie) pic.twitter.com/TPEsZYN3bn

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 11, 2024

There isn’t any concrete reporting at the moment on potential landing spots for Simmons or whether a trade is even likely at this point.

Fischer was positing the idea more than anything, while Slater poured cold water on the possibility of a trade when speaking to foxsports.com.au ahead of the season.

“People have brought up the trade possibilities with Simmons because he’s such a big expiring contract and people think that NBA teams value expiring contracts if they’re trying to get off long-term money but he makes so much money that I think a trade is really difficult,” Slater said at the time.

In particular, he pointed to the fact that teams above the first apron under the new CBA would need to match Simmons’ $40 million salary.

Meanwhile, teams whose salaries are below the first apron can take back 125 per cent of the outgoing salary for any amount over $29 million, which still means they would need to trade at least $32 million to make it work.

“So when you’re talking about numbers like that, I don’t think that a team is going to have that much salary that they want to dump to bring on a guy like Simmons,” Slater added.

“... I just think a trade is unlikely and I think it’s way more realistic that he just plays out this final year of the contract, it expires, and the Nets go into this rebuild with a ton of draft picks and a league-leading amount of cap space next summer.”

Simmons alone as a player doesn’t hold much value league-wide given his constant battle with injuries and diminished form, although with Schroder out of the picture the Australian now profiles as Brooklyn’s clear lead guard with only backup shooting guards Keon Johnson and Shake Milton behind him.

Jordi Fernandez: "Dennis was bottom ten slowest point guards in the #NBA - pace doesn't mean you're better or worse - and Ben is 18th-fastest...We're going to try to play faster. The ball is going to fly. He's going to push. He's going to throw it ahead." #Nets

— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) December 16, 2024

If anything, that provides Simmons with a chance to build up some trade value in a more ball-dominant role where he can run the offence and remind potential suitors of the playmaking upside which, along with his talent on the defensive end, made him a three-time All-Star.

With that in mind, a buyout seems more unlikely than it did before the Schroder trade, when Simmons was relegated to the bench and saw his playing time decrease.

Instead, a buyout likely will only be on the cards if Simmons still doesn’t see his role expand with Schroder gone and would require him to already have a new team lined up given he would otherwise be giving up a portion of what will be his final big-money contract.

At this point, it appears most likely Simmons will remain on the Nets until the end of the season, when his contract will expire while Brooklyn will enter the summer with a projected league-high $70 million in cap space.

While having plenty of cap space is always a good thing, the highest-earning free agents that are set to hit the open market are all at least 27 years old.

And while previous average annual value is not always a strong indicator of how good a player is, with Simmons being the perfect example, it is still on a whole a fairly underwhelming free agency class in terms of genuine long-term difference-makers.

Another option is using some of the money to re-sign Thomas.

Is Cam Thomas the future in Brooklyn? Michelle Farsi/Getty Images/AFP

While it remains unclear just how the Nets may use their future cap space or draft capital, the same can’t be said for the direction they are heading in.

Brooklyn Joe Tsai admitted before the season that this team was at a roster-building “crossroads”. They were at a crucial fork in the road.

The Nets, as Slater said, “sent a signal” on which path they were taking when they traded Schroder and more moves are expected to follow.

Simmons too will find himself at a fork in the road soon, if he isn’t there already yet. Even if he isn’t traded or bought out, it’s unlikely his future lies in Brooklyn beyond this season.

Where he ends up will largely depend on how he plays for the rest of the season and with Schroder out of the picture and the Nets seemingly leaning into his strengths as a playmaker in transition, Simmons may just have the window of opportunity he needs.

Originally published as Ben Simmons in spotlight after Brooklyn Nets’ bombshell trade