How can the Nets move forward with Ben Simmons this offseason?
The Brooklyn Nets have an important summer ahead of them as they have to find a way to get back to the playoffs after missing the postseason this year. One of the matters that Brooklyn has to address at some point is what they’re going to do with guard Ben Simmons.
Simmons, 27, is heading into the last season of the five-year, $177 million extension that he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019. While the Nets aren’t necessarily in the position of needing to make one move to put them into championship contention since they are far from that, Simmons hasn’t been giving the team what was been expected of him.
Injuries, mostly with his back, have limited Simmons to 57 games played in his 2.5 seasons in Brooklyn and as such, some fans are tired of seeing Simmons taking up such a large amount of cap space while being unable to play for an extended period of time. The good thing for those fans is, the Nets have a few options of what they can do with Simmons given that he’s in the last year of his current deal.
For starters, it should be noted that based on previous reports, the expectation is for Simmons to be on the Nets’ roster next season with the hope that he can play more than he did this past season (15 games). Barring any significant trades, Simmons should be competing with Dennis Schroder for the starting point guard role.
Keith Smith of Spotrac pointed out in his article on Brooklyn’s offseason that the franchise could use Simmons’ contract as a way to match salaries in the pursuit of a star-level player, using the $40.3 million left on his deal to acquire two or three players for depth purposes, or let his contract run out so that they have that money freed up on their cap space for the 2025 offseason.
Essentially, there are four ways that the Nets can utilize Simmons this offseason/next season so the power is in their court right now. If Simmons can play somewhat close to his All-Star days, Brooklyn could have more options with Simmons than they do at this moment.
