Former No 1 overall NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons is finalizing a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets and will become a free agent.
Simmons is expected to meet with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers as next possible destinations, per ESPN.
The buyout ends a disappointing three years with the Nets for the 28-year-old Simmons, with constant injury issues dominating his time in Brooklyn instead the all-NBA form he showed in spurts with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons was traded from Philadelphia to Brooklyn in February 2022 after a holdout saw him miss the first four months of the NBA season. An injury kept him out of the rest of his first shortened season in The Big Apple.
Simmons never regained his All-Star form at Barclays Center, as he averaged below seven points per game during the 2022-2023 season before suffering a knee injury.
A back injury spelled more of the same the next season. And thus far in the 2024-2025 campaign, Simmons is averaging 6.2 points per game.
Former No 1 overall NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons is finalizing a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets
Simmons is expected to meet with the Cavaliers and the Clippers as next possible destinations
Being a former NBA All-Star, that will likely be signed for cheap, keeps Simmons options open despite being hostile towards teammates in the past and not living up to his top-overall-draft-pick billing.
More to come.
