After trading Mikal Bridges for a prime draft pick offer, the Nets have made their direction clear: They will take a step back immediately to build a brighter future.
Is Simmons part of that future? He’s entering his age-28 season on an expiring $40.3 million contract. He’s coached just 57 games over the past three seasons and no one is trading for him with the idea that he’s worth that salary.
Still, Simmons has some value as a way for other teams to get rid of their even worse long-term contracts in exchange for draft picks. That’s exactly the kind of trade the Nets are trying to pull off. By Mike Scotto of HoopsHypeAnd if healthy, Simmons was once an All-Star and First Team All-Defensive player. There’s a remote chance he can get back to that level.
These are the types of deals that could make sense for Simmons.
Ben Simmons’ landing spots
Bulls
The Bulls have been desperate to get rid of the three years and $138 million remaining on Zach LaVine’s contract. Even the inclusion of a first-round pick hasn’t been enough to entice any teams. by ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
A LaVine-Simmons trade would shave more than $2 million off the Bulls’ salary cap and eliminate their problem. Chicago has a first-round pick from Portland that might not be traded, along with its own picks in 2027, 2029 and 2031 available to be traded.
One of those picks would be a nice trade for Simmons, who could help teach fellow Australian guard Josh Giddey some tricks.
Jazz
Last year, the Jazz had one of the weakest point guards in the league. Rookie Keyonte George tried admirably to fill the role, but he’s more of a shooting guard prospect. Kris Dunn revitalized his career, but he’s more of a high-end bench player. Simmons could be a great buy-low candidate for the team.
The Jazz have their own big contract that they would be happy to get rid of with the $53 million John Collins is due over the next two years. Trading for Simmons would allow them to get out of that Collins deal a year early and also take on very little risk with upside potential.
Utah has cap space available, so it could make this type of uneven-salary trade and carry its cap space over to next summer.
Warriors
Andrew Wiggins has been a huge disappointment since signing his four-year, $109 million contract extension with the Warriors. The Warriors have reportedly been shopping him around, looking to get out of the final three years of his contract.
Simmons would allow the Warriors to get rid of some bad money sooner. He and Draymond Green could also form a fearsome defensive duo if he could get healthy. The offensive fit would be tricky, but no one would score with those two.
The Warriors would have to pay more money than just Wiggins for this type of deal to work. They could add a promising young prospect like Moses Moody, along with Kevon Looney’s expiring contract.
Spurs
San Antonio had already bolstered its point guard game by acquiring Chris Paul, but at his age he can no longer be counted on to play a lot of minutes. Could Simmons be a competent backup? He could certainly help Victor Wembanyama better than the players the Spurs had on their roster last year.
The Spurs still have $24 million available in cap space, so they could make a trade with a salary mismatch, like the Jazz. Last summer, they signed Zach Collins to a two-year, $35 million extension that, in retrospect, seems horrendous. Trading Simmons and Collins could work. It would save the Nets money in the immediate future.
The Spurs might have a chance to sign Simmons without any issues and get rid of Collins’ contract a year early. San Antonio might need to draft a low-tier player to make this worthwhile for Brooklyn.
