NBA Rumors

The Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons reached a settlement in his grievance regarding the salary the team withheld amid his absence during the 2021-22 NBA season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark added the terms of the deal are confidential, so it's unclear how much money Simmons will collect. He reportedly sought to regain almost $20 million of his $33 million salary from last year.

The Sixers contended the three-time All-Star was in breach of his contract when he failed to arrive in time for the start of training camp and didn't play in the preseason or regular season.

Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer provided more context last October: "Philadelphia views Simmons' refusal to report to training camp as not fulfilling the terms of his contract. In dialogue with league-office personnel and players union officials, the Sixers appear to be within their rights to withhold that lucrative check."

Simmons' agent, Rich Paul, said an interview with The Athletic's Shams Charania last November the fines and overall scrutiny "has furthered the mental health issues for Ben." Paul added his client was in a place mentally to where he could return to the court:

This is no longer about a trade. This is about finding a place where we can help Ben get back to his mental strength and get back on the floor. I want him on the floor playing the game that he loves. I want Ben on the floor whether that’s in a 76ers uniform or any other uniform, that’s not up to me, but I want him in a state where he can resume play. We want to cooperate and want to work him back on the floor.

By February, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Simmons forfeited more than $19 million in fines and hadn't received a paycheck since collecting the $8.3 million owed to him on Oct. 1, 2021.

"Every two weeks the team sends a notice with an explanation of all the fines he has accumulated for failing to render services, instead of a $1.375 million paycheck," Shelburne wrote.

The Sixers finally traded Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 10. The 26-year-old has yet to make his debut for the Nets due to a lingering back problem. He underwent back surgery in May with the hope he'll be ready for the start of training camp this fall.

Kevin Durant might be prepared to play some serious hardball in order to get the Brooklyn Nets to acquiesce to his trade request.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday that one team executive told him during the NBA Summer League that Durant "was more apt to retire than play again for the Brooklyn Nets."

Stein followed up to write the situation hasn't improved since then:

"If Durant hasn't been traded by [training camp], there is a growing expectation in league circles that he will continue trying to cause as much of a ruckus behind the scenes to try to prod the Nets into lowering their asking price at last to facilitate a deal. If it wasn't apparent by now, he really wants that trade to Phoenix or Miami or maybe even Boston or Philadelphia, no matter what it does to his reputation when he hasn't played a single game yet under the four-year, $194 million contract extension signed in August 2021."

The 12-time All-Star issued a them-or-me ultimatum to Nets team governor Joe Tsai, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Charania reported Aug. 8 that he "reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that he needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash."

Tsai wasted little time in addressing the story and making it clear he's behind Marks and Nash:

Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022

The fact that Durant remains a member of the Nets seems to illustrate that the team won't accept less than what it believes is fair market value. Charania noted the Nets "made clear privately that they will take every last asset from a team that trades for Durant."

Threatening to retire—or at least refusing to play—is the kind of tactic that could force Brooklyn's hand. Taking the best trade offer on the table, even if it's below what Marks is demanding, is better than getting nothing.

However, Durant potentially puts himself in a no-win position if he goes down this route and the Nets remain steadfast. In that scenario, he either backs down and makes his entire protest pointless, or he retires and allows that to be the last image of his legendary career.

Whether it's an accurate critique or not, Charles Barkley spoke for more than a few fans when he described the 6'10" forward as "riding the bus" in reference to the two titles he won with the Golden State Warriors.

"If you ain't driving the bus, don't walk around talkin' bout you a champion!"

Chuck sounds off on KD's playoff performance. pic.twitter.com/NSULRff4nD

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 24, 2022

Walking away would only provide more ammunition to Durant's loudest skeptics. As much as his legacy is cemented, retiring and leaving behind a mess he helped create would hang around him for years to come.

The Los Angeles Lakers are eyeing deals beyond a trade for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving or a package from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for veteran point guard Russell Westbrook, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

"If and when Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell get traded, the space to make a Westbrook trade probably opens a little wider with the costs getting cleared," Woike wrote. "Lakers sources insist they have options beyond the ones that have been reported (Irving, Buddy Hield, Myles Turner and others). Time should better reveal those once the bigger moves get made."

Irving has reportedly been interested in teaming up with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in L.A. since before he opted in to his $36.9 million player option with the Nets for 2022-23.

On July 2, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that the Lakers and Nets were "actively engaged" in discussions centered around an Irving-Westbrook swap, adding that there was "palpable optimism" a deal could be reached this summer.

However, The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported last week that talks between the Lakers and Nets have ceased and likely won't resume until Kevin Durant, who requested a trade out of Brooklyn in June, is moved.

The Lakers and Pacers had engaged in trade talks involving Westbrook for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield earlier this summer. However, The Athletic's Bob Kravitz reported late last month that those negotiations were dead because the Lakers refused to include two first-round picks alongside Westbrook.

Westbrook had a disappointing 2021-22 season with the Lakers, his first in L.A. after a one-year stint with the Washington Wizards. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 78 games while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from deep.

It was arguably the 33-year-old's worst season in the NBA, and his trade value plummeted because of it.

If the Lakers are serious about wanting to move Westbrook, they almost certainly will have to include their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in any package. Unless they're willing to do that, the veteran point guard will likely remain in the Purple and Gold in 2022-23.

The Lakers do have a plan in place if they can't move Westbrook. Haynes reported earlier this week that the team is "hopeful for a corner-three shooting percentage bump from Russell Westbrook next season."

New head coach Darvin Ham said just a few weeks ago that he would like Westbrook to take more corner threes than he's ever taken in his career. That came after he told Andscape's Marc Spears that he had a plan for the veteran this season.

"I love Russell Westbrook, man. Just his mentality, his approach. Just to see him, a guy of that magnitude and everything he's done in the league to get hated on," Ham said. "But being me, I got a wholehearted plan, a clear plan on how I'm going to use him."

With the summer winding down, we'll see how desperate the Lakers get to move Westbrook and field a legitimate title contender.

The idea of Draymond Green playing for a team other than the Golden State Warriors may not be that outlandish.

Heavy.com's Sean Deveney reported Wednesday that Green has "always wanted to play" for the Detroit Pistons.

"Draymond has always wanted to go there, he has always wanted to play for the Pistons," an executive said to Deveney. "And they’ll have the cap space. It’s hard to see Draymond playing anywhere else outside Golden State but if it going to happen anywhere, Detroit would be a good bet."

Green is a native of Saginaw, Michigan, and spent four years at Michigan State.

This isn't the first time the four-time All-Star has been linked with a move back to his home state. Adrian Wojnarowski reported for Yahoo Sports in February 2015 that Green, who was due to be a restricted free agent, "has a significant interest with pursuing an offer sheet with his hometown Detroit Pistons."

A lot has changed since then to make the partnership more plausible this time around.

Green is now a four-time champion with the Warriors, and their most recent title is the kind of legacy-defining achievement that could leave him wanting a new challenge. Helping the Pistons return to relevancy would be just that.

The 32-year-old can be a free agent in 2023 as well—he has a $27.6 million player option for 2023-24—and he may not have the appetite to take a pay cut in order to facilitate a return to Golden State.

The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II reported on July 27 the team has "no plans to offer Green a maximum extension," which would total $164.2 million over five years. Slater and Thompson added the 6'8" forward "is said to be willing to explore his outside options to get the kind of contract he wants."

The Pistons have a bright future with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Saddiq Bey. Green would not only add a wealth of experience to a young roster, but he might help generate excitement among the fanbase.

Detroit ranked 20th in average attendance (16,184) but had the second-lowest home attendance percentage (79.6) in the NBA in 2021-22, per ESPN.com.

If the Pistons were to aggressively pursue Green in free agency, parallels to the Blake Griffin trade in January 2018 will be inevitable.

The franchise wanted to make a big splash to get the fans interested with Little Caesars Arena having recently opened. The positivity was fleeting as Detroit made the playoffs in 2019 but quickly returned to mediocrity. The Pistons eventually bought Griffin out of his contract in March 2021.

The Warriors' stance on a contract for Green seems to point to the general concerns about how his game will evolve as he ages.

The long-term risk could far outweigh the short-term benefits, especially if he lands on a team like Detroit that isn't typically a destination for marquee free agents. The Pistons can't afford to swing and miss on a max deal.

But as much as Green might be intrigued by the idea of heading to the Motor City, there's still a lot of time between now and when he can hit the open market.

The Brooklyn Nets are going to drive a hard bargain when it comes to a potential trade for Kevin Durant.

They even reportedly asked the Boston Celtics for their two best players in early talks, according to a report from Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe:

"Brooklyn initially tried to pry both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown from Boston. That proposal went nowhere, of course. The source confirmed recent reports that Brooklyn later shifted its focus to a potential deal centered on Brown, Marcus Smart and a massive haul of future first-round draft picks. But the Celtics were not interested."

On Monday, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the Nets have "set a sky-high threshold for the return the franchise wants for Durant" and that Brooklyn governor Joe Tsai and the team "have made clear privately that they will take every last asset from a team that trades for Durant, sources said."

Within that context, asking for both Tatum and Brown in initial trade talks doesn't come as a huge surprise, even if the Nets surely knew it would be a nonstarter for Boston.

Shams' report came after Durant met with Tsai and reportedly reiterated his desire to be traded. He additionally requested that he either be dealt or that the team fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, reportedly telling Tasi he "does not have faith in the team's direction."

It didn't take long for Tsai to make his choice:

Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022

The Nets remain in limbo, with the futures of both Durant and Kyrie Irving—who is heading into the final year of his contract after exercising his $36.5 million player option—in question.

The Celtics have emerged as a potential contender in trade talks involving Durant, largely because they could build an offer around a young talent like Brown. The question is whether it would make sense to break apart the young duo of Tatum (24) and Brown (25) after a trip to the NBA Finals this season and the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2019-20 campaign, all for the 33-year-old Durant.

Brown didn't put his best foot forward in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, averaging 23.5 points per game in the series but turning the ball over 10 times between Games 5 and 6. His handle looked suspect against the Dubs.

Durant unquestionably would be an immediate upgrade. But Brown is just entering his prime years and has already proved he can help lead the C's deep into the playoffs. Boston may not be willing to give up on his potential just yet.

Certainly, the Celtics were never going to entertain trading both Tatum and Brown.

If Kevin Durant's ultimate goal is to be traded away from the Brooklyn Nets, he apparently didn't help himself with his reported ultimatum.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Durant met with Nets governor Joe Tsai and said Brooklyn needs to either fire the combination of head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trade him.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Tuesday the move didn't help Durant's trade value, suggesting he "has very much limited his options" while adding, "as I talked to teams out there, they don't think this increased his trade value. They think this hurt his trade value."

.@WindhorstESPN thinks KD may have hurt his own trade chances 👀

"Kevin Durant ... in my view has very much limited his options." pic.twitter.com/Aj2aMQRily

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 9, 2022

Tsai notably responded to the report with a tweet offering support to Nash and Marks and saying the plan is to "make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets."

Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) August 8, 2022

That Durant is apparently done playing for Nash was something of a surprise considering their relationship seemed to be strong in the past. They bonded when Nash was a special adviser for the Golden State Warriors, and Durant even publicly supported his coach after last season's playoff loss.

"Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years," Durant told reporters in April when saying he was the right coach for the team.

Windhorst reflected on the timing of the latest development.

"The timing of it is also unusual," he said. "While star players have gotten coaches fired for decades and will get them fired for decades, he didn't express this, as far as I'm aware, to the Nets at the end of the season. And he didn't express this to the Nets when he made his trade demand. So doing it now is a maneuver. A maneuver that I don't think worked."

It has seemingly always been something with the Nets of late, whether it was Kyrie Irving missing most of the 2021-22 campaign because he was unvaccinated against COVID-19, trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers to break up a superstar trio that rarely got to play together or seeing Ben Simmons not take the court at all after he came to Brooklyn in that deal.

The team was swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and now has something of a mess on its hands with the Durant situation.

That the ultimatum reportedly hurts his trade value makes life more difficult for the front office, which Charania reported already set a "sky-high threshold for the return" in any Durant deal.

An offer that was good enough in Brooklyn's eyes to accept hasn't happened yet, which could create something of an awkward situation when the season starts if Durant is still on the roster and Nash is still the head coach.

His trade value is likely also somewhat diminished by the fact he turns 34 years old next month and has dealt with durability issues of late while missing the 2019-20 campaign, playing 35 games in 2020-21 and playing 55 games last season.

The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly still interested in trading for All-Star forward Kevin Durant despite a "steep" asking price from the Brooklyn Nets.

According to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, the Nets are looking to get "an All-Star level player, rotation players and significant draft compensation" in exchange for Durant.

Winfield noted that the Pels could offer a trade that checks those boxes with the inclusion of a former All-Star in Brandon Ingram, plus Herbert Jones, Devonte' Graham, Jose Alvarado and draft picks acquired as part of previous trades with the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) reported in June that Durant's manager, Rich Kleiman, said KD had requested a trade out of Brooklyn.

Wojnarowski added that the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns were believed to be the top two teams on Durant's wish list.

While the expectation was that teams would be beating down the Nets' door with huge offers, that reportedly hasn't been the case.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst (h/t RealGM) reported last month that the Nets hadn't gotten any offers to their liking and actually prefer to keep Durant rather than trading him if possible.

The Nets aren't obligated to trade Durant since he is under contract through 2026, but Durant would have the option of forcing their hand by not reporting if he truly doesn't want to play in Brooklyn any longer.

If both parties agree that a trade is for the best, there may be no team in the NBA that is better equipped to put together a big offer for Durant than the Pels.

They are a trendy pick to take a big leap forward in 2022-23 after sneaking into the postseason last season thanks to a core of Ingram, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas.

New Orleans was 36-46 last season after Williamson missed the entire year because of an injury and McCollum not joining the team until a February deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, so there is a ton of room for improvement.

As currently constructed, the Pelicans should be a playoff team next season and have a chance to do some damage during the postseason as well, but Durant would instantly make them championship contenders.

The 33-year-old veteran is a 12-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, two-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP and one-time NBA MVP who continues to play at an elite level.

Although he was limited to 55 games last season because of a knee injury, Durant was fantastic, averaging 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.1 three-pointers made.

The Pelicans are building something that could be special, but if they can get Durant for one of their stars, some supporting pieces and draft picks, it is a deal that would be worth making, as it would likely push them into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium said on the Pat McAfee Show Tuesday that the rumors that Ben Simmons left the Brooklyn Nets group chat after teammates asked him if he would be playing in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics this past postseason were not true.

"This NEVER happened.. it's an amazing story but it didn't happen"@ShamsCharania on the rumors that Ben Simmons left the Nets group chat after they asked him to play in game 4 against the Celtics #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wzWShQzG9m

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 9, 2022

Simmons appeared to have his own take on the rumors:

😂 slow news day

— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) August 9, 2022

Simmons never played for the Nets last season after joining the team as part of the James Harden trade because he reportedly injured his back during winter conditioning.

There was some belief that Simmons might make his return ahead of Game 4 and the power forward reportedly planned to do so, but as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported at the time, "a week-plus of pain-free days ended with pain soreness on the eve of Brooklyn's elimination."

Last week, Ric Bucher told Colin Cowherd on FS1's The Herd that when teammates reached out to Simmons to ask him about his playing status before the game, Simmons simply left the group chat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsNtcMllp0o

"They're having a team chat before Game 4, thinking he's going to play against the Celtics, and from what I'm told, Ben just left the chat," Bucher said (8:30 mark). "They asked him, 'Are you going to play?' Ben left the chat. Like he didn't even answer the question. Just left the chat."

The Celtics when on to sweep the Nets, and Simmons officially went the entire season without playing a single game.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the future of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, it's unclear what the team will look like when Simmons—who had microdiscectomy surgery this offseason for the pain he was having in his lower back due to a herniated disk—does finally play for the Nets.

At the very least, that potential Nets debut seems to be on the right track.

"He is doing more on the floor, he's looking good," Shams told McAfee on Tuesday. "I think the Nets have high, high expectations for Simmons next year. ... He's supposed to be ready for training camp, here in a month-and-a-half. He's doing more and more on the court, I'm told."

The New York Knicks believe they're in a position of power in Donovan Mitchell talks.

Fred Katz of The Athletic reported the Knicks "know no one is coming close to them" as the Utah Jazz continue to explore trading their All-Star guard.

The Knicks have long been seen as the front-runner for Mitchell, a New York native who spent much of his early childhood in the city.

Equipped with as many as eight future first-round picks to trade, Knicks President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose has more than enough assets to complete a trade right now. That said, it's clear the Knicks do not want to throw all of their future assets into a Mitchell trade and repeat the same mistake they made 11 years prior with Carmelo Anthony.

Like Mitchell, Anthony was a New York native spinning his wheels on a mediocre Western Conference team. The Knicks went all-in to acquire the All-Star forward and pair him with Amar'e Stoudemire, but the results proved largely disappointing. New York never made it past the second round of the playoffs with Anthony, thanks in large part to an inability to surround him with talent.

The Knicks know Mitchell alone is not enough to create a perennial contender. Mitchell's Jazz teams had the NBA's best defensive big man in Rudy Gobert and a strong complement of veteran role players who fit Quin Snyder's system. They still continually fell short in the playoffs, never making it past the second round and exiting in the first three of the last four years.

Cashing in every future draft pick would consign the Knicks to a similar fate—if not worse given they have no player of Gobert's caliber to pair with Mitchell. New York is coming off a 37-45 campaign that saw its best player, Julius Randle, feud with fans and disappoint under the spotlight of expectations. A core of Mitchell, Randle and RJ Barrett isn't scratching the surface of competing against the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks' best hope is that they remain the clubhouse leader with the best offer in place—one that allows them to acquire Mitchell and gives them enough breathing room to add another co-star in the future.

Ben Simmons reportedly didn't appreciate it when his Brooklyn Nets teammates asked him if he planned on playing during the team's first-round exit against the Boston Celtics.

"They're having a team chat before Game 4, thinking he's going to play against the Celtics, and from what I'm told, Ben just left the chat," Ric Bucher told Colin Cowherd on FS1's The Herd last week (8:30 mark). "They asked him, 'Are you going to play?' Ben left the chat. Like he didn't even answer the question. Just left the chat."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsNtcMllp0o

The past year for Simmons has been one long saga.

The longtime Philadelphia 76ers point guard requested a trade from the team last summer and, after briefly reporting to practice in October, proceeded to stay away from the team into the regular season.

Simmons cited mental health issues as the reason for his absence, and the Sixers and Simmons' camp battled over the team's decision to withhold his salary and fine him during that time.

Ultimately, he was traded to the Nets in the deal that sent James Harden back to Philadelphia.

But Simmons never played for Brooklyn either, reportedly injuring his back while working on his conditioning over the winter.

As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in May, "Simmons had planned to return for Game 4 of the Nets' Eastern Conference first-round series against the Celtics, but a week-plus of pain-free days ended with pain soreness on the eve of Brooklyn's elimination."

Simmons ultimately had a microdiscectomy surgery to "address pain located in a herniated disk in his lower back," per Woj. That surgery was expected to include three to four months of rehabilitation.

When healthy, Simmons was one of the best and most versatile perimeter defenders in the NBA, adding solid transition playmaking and elite athleticism. But he never developed a consistent jump shot and was often criticized for his lack of offensive aggressiveness in Philadelphia, which came to a head when he attempted just four shots in the team's Game 7 loss against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, infamously passing up a wide-open dunk in the fourth quarter of that game.

When Simmons was traded to Brooklyn, there was excitement that his defense and playmaking would fit well with a pair of offensive juggernauts in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. With the uncertainty of that pair's future in Brooklyn coming to a head this summer, however, it's now possible that the trio will never actually take the court together.

So if, or when, Simmons does play for the Nets this season, there are very real questions about which teammates will even be on the group chat.