After trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a matter of days, Ben Simmons was left as the last remaining max player on the Nets roster.
Of course, Simmons hasn’t nearly performed to his contract like the Brooklyn’s former stars, as lingering injuries and continued offensive inefficiency has made his tenure with the team a frustrating one since being acquired as the headline piece in the James Harden trade in 2021.
According to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, the Nets had a chance to dump Ben Simmons last summer, and in the process, bring in a formidable defensive presence in Bam Adebayo.
Per Winfield, Brooklyn could have made its mark in the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes last summer, when Mitchell was being shopped by the Jazz. There was reportedly a “framework” of a deal in place that would have sent Mitchell to the Heat, Simmons to the Jazz, and Adebayo to the Nets, but Brooklyn turned down the deal.
Instead, the Nets are still dealing with Simmons’ injuries, while Adebayo is averaging 21.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in his second All-Star season.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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