Getty Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets goes to the basket against Daniel Gafford #21 and Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards
The Brooklyn Nets were eliminated from the playoffs over a week ago, and we have officially entered transaction season in Brooklyn. One of the places where rumors are swirling is around Ben Simmons. It is quickly becoming the Summer of Simmons trade rumors after the point guard never made his Nets debut this season. This postseason has a lot of uncertainty for Brooklyn, with Kyrie Irving being an unrestricted free agent. Bruce Brown is also an unrestricted free agent, along with Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Goran Dragic.
Obviously, bringing Kyrie back is a priority for the Nets. How they fill out the rest of the roster will be seen as time goes by. However, one move that could be in Brooklyn’s future is parting ways with the recently acquired Ben Simmons this summer. With the point guard having a “mental block” preventing a return from injury, and undergoing surgery at the end of the season, why would a team trade for him? One scenario could be a sign-and-trade scenario to fill the void left by a teams departing star player.
Let’s take a look at the proposed trade from Bleacher Reports Greg Swartz in a recent article titled ‘Surprise Landing Spots for Top 2022 NBA Free Agents.’
The Trade
His article followed suit for the Nets rumor mill, with Ben Simmons being on the move in this write-up. The team, the Nets, are partnering with on the deal is the Washington Wizards.
Washington receives: Ben Simmons
Brooklyn receives: Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal has reportedly wanted out of Washington for the last three seasons. Will this be when it finally happens?
Beal is likely going to be a top-five highest-paid player in the NBA this season. Is that a deal that the Wizards want to make? Bringing Beal back would leave them pretty cap-strung, and at this point, they know what they will get from the shooting guard.
However, Beal may be a perfect fit in Brooklyn. He brings a prowess offensively to an already electric Nets offense. Irving and Durant also give him spacing that he hasn’t seen in his entire NBA career. It could be just the move that the Nets need to push them over the top into being a championship contender.
Brooklyn also has additional pieces to throw into the potential sign-and-trade if needed. To sweeten the deal the Nets could include young players like Cam Thomas or Nic Claxton in a trade with the Wizards.
Simmons to Washington
Ben Simmons could be an exciting young addition to the Wizards core. His pass-first mentality and playmaking ability could help Washington players like Kyle Kuzma or Deni Avdija. His defense also would be a major factor for the Wizards and would make the team as a whole a tough team to score on with players with length that can guard multiple positions, including the perimeter.
Could this be a potential fit and answer for these two franchise stars? The money matches up, but whether there is interest won’t be decided until free agency for a possible sign-and-trade.