NBA Rumors: Ben Simmons may have played his final game as a Brooklyn Net?

NBA Rumors: Exploring whether Ben Simmons has played his final game in a Brooklyn Nets uniform as he could emerge as an offseason buyout candidate.

As the Brooklyn Nets prepare for what could be a chaotic offseason, in which they're likely going to be aggressive in their pursuits of landing a superstar, there's one other situation that they may have to resolve. And it centers around Ben Simmons and his potential future with the team.

Entering the final year of his contract with the Nets, it's hard to predict how the team will handle Simmons' situation. Since being acquired by the Nets at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline, Simmons has only played in 57 games. Heading into the offseason, anything and everything could be on the table for Simmons, Perhaps even a contract buyout.

However, according to a recent report, the Nets don't plan on throwing the towel in on the Simmons experiment just yet. As an expiring contract heading into the season, Simmons is a natural buyout candidate. Especially considering how much he's struggled and been a non-factor for the Nets, the whispers surrounding a potential Simmons buyout are only going to grow. At least for now, it doesn't appear as if Brooklyn is ready to have those types of discussions.

And I suppose it makes sense. It's not outrageous to think that the Nets could get to a point next season where they're ready to buy out Simmons. However, I'd imagine they'd want to see how healthy Simmons could be next season and whether they could try to trade him ahead of the deadline before they even begin to think about a potential buyout.

Ben Simmons has been unable to stay healthy throughout his career

While most seem to point at Simmons' collapse with the Philadelphia 76ers during the team's 2021 playoff run, you can make the argument that the biggest hurdle in his career of late has been the lack of health. His injuries are the true culprit of the derailing of his career.

Over the past three seasons, which spans half a season with the Sixers and two and a half with the Nets, Simmons has only played in 57 regular season games. Whether it's been mental health issues or physical injuries, Simmons has not been 100 percent healthy in a very long time.

When it comes to whether Simmons can resurrect his career or not in the future, every question and answer has to hinge on his ability to get and remain healthy.