Just a day after the bombshell trade of Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, the Brooklyn Nets have pulled off a 116-105 win over the Chicago Bulls with its new look side.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 25 points, Cam Thomas added 20 and Joe Harris was the next best for the Nets at 18 in 21 minutes on the floor.
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But with the Nets’ “Big Three” down to Ben Simmons after Durant and Kyrie Irving were traded through the week, the Aussie came from the bench, scoring eight points, eight rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes but was -12 while on the floor.
It was his second game back from a knee injury which has impacted his minutes.
Coming just a day after Durant’s exit from New York for Phoenix, fans were still ready to pile on the three-time All-Star.
Simmons did give them some fodder however, taking a heave from the logo at the end of the third quarter that barely flicked the bottom of the net.
It was just the second three point attempt he has taken all year.
Nets reporter for SNYtv Ian Begley said there had been discussions around Simmons during the trade period and “spoke w/a few teams” about the Aussie.
Simmons’ trade value is apparently next to zero with his huge salary which includes $US35.4m ($A51.1m) this year, $US37.9m ($A54.7m) next year and $US40.3m ($A58.1m) in 2024-25 not matching his output on the court.
A trade had been revealed on Friday from before the season that would have seen Simmons sent to the Utah, then-Jazz star Donovan Mitchell to the Heat and Miami’s Bam Adebayo to the Nets.
Mitchell was eventually traded to Cleveland.
But now it seems the Nets are stuck with Simmons, and fans aren’t too happy.
Radio talk show host Henry Lake tweeted: “Ben Simmons is only 26 years old, but it feels like he won’t have a long career. I hope that I’m wrong but he just seems like a player with all the talent in the world who isn’t in love with basketball.”
Ex-Reuters reporter Vincent Lee posted: “Third quarter ending with Ben Simmons airball 3 point attempt feels poetic”.
KTLA reporter Travis Schlepp commented: “BREAKING: Ben Simmons has attempted a three. It was a heave to beat the clock, but w/e”.
But it was far from the only criticism of the Nets’ Big Three era, with Stephen A. Smith calling it the “biggest failure in NBA history”.
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Smith didn’t hold back.
“I say yes,” Smith said when asked if they were the league’s greatest failure. “It’s not because they spent three-and-a-half years there and only got one playoff series win, it’s because they made promises they didn’t keep, because dysfunctionality raked through that franchise like a virus.”
“It contaminated the borough of Brooklyn, New York, it disappointed them and left them hanging.
“And even though the players themselves end up going elsewhere, competing for championships, making money along the way, they short-changed the fanbase.”
Smith added he believed Durant tried his best at the franchise and that he “never cheated the game”.
Basketball reporter Jo Healy also said Simmons’ career is now at a crossroads.
“(Simmons) is in limbo,” Healy said on SEN Breakfast.
“It’s been crazy with the (NBA) trade deadline. I’ve been on my phone getting these Woj (Basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski) bombs constantly.
“There was a point where Kyrie left and (the Nets) were probably not in a bad place.
“KD (Durant) is huge for them. It’s going to take the Nets quite a while to regroup and regather.
“I hope for Ben’s sake that it means more opportunity and he really just needs to find himself in a palace where he is supported and be right mentally.
“We just want to see him playing and whether it’s on a winning team or not, it doesn’t really matter for the rest of the season.
“It’s just about him playing and moving forward.”