Why The Brooklyn Nets Do The Deal
Whether this deal looks fair to you from the Brooklyn Nets’ perspective depends on your perception of Ben Simmons.
For some, he’s a franchise cornerstone. That’s fair. Simmons is one of the league’s best defenders and passers. For others, he’s a liability. That’s fair too. He’s difficult to build around as a non-shooting ball-handler, and his frequent spells of unavailability are a problem too.
The Nets ought to survey the league and get a feel for his market value before they pull the trigger here. If they can fetch a decent return elsewhere, this won’t appeal to them. With that said, if rival GMs are put off by the problems we’ve identified, pawning him off on the Heat might be its own value.
More importantly, this deal keeps the Nets competitive. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are a strong enough duo to at least push for the play-in.
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With the Nets owing their draft through to 2027 to the Houston Rockets, that counts. The Nets might as well tread water until they can attract a big-name free agent.
This deal gives them the core they’ll need to do so.
