After a chaotic NBA trade deadline, the next domino to fall is the buyout market, which is headlined by former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the three-time All-Star is finalizing a contract buyout with the Brooklyn Nets. This means that he can become the most intriguing player available to potentially help a contender for the rest of this season.
The problem, however, is that Simmons is paid $40.3 million on his current deal.
NBA BUYOUT MARKET: 26 candidates teams may consider after the NBA trade deadline
While that money will get paid by the Nets, because he made more than the mid-level exception of $12.8 million, he is ineligible to sign with any team in the luxury tax apron.
Unfortunately, then, that immediately disqualifies the following teams: Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets.
The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks are also very close to the first apron and could struggle to sign him as well.
He is reportedly seeking a winning environment and stability, per Law Murray. With that in mind, based on the reporting, here are some teams that could still make sense.
Cleveland Cavaliers
After making a splashy move at the deadline to add De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a particularly intriguing option.
Cleveland has the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NBA. While they already have the best offense in the league so far this season, their defense is not quite as dominant.
But if they added Simmons (who is a former NBA steals leader and a two-time First-Team All-Defense recipient) to a group that already has a strong defensive anchor with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, they might have an even more exciting group.
L.A. Clippers
Another team that Simmons will reportedly consider is the Clippers, who are hanging around as a potential play-in team in the Western Conference.
While they have not exactly gotten a ton of availability from Kawhi Leonard this season, a defense with Simmons and Leonard is going to intimidate any opponent.
Couple that with Ivica Zubac and Kris Dunn, who are also two of the best defensive players at their position this year, and you suddenly have an elite group on that end of the floor.
Of course, it would also be fascinating to see Simmons play alongside James Harden after the two were famously traded for each other in 2022.
Houston Rockets
As originally reported by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Rockets are another team that is worth watching as a potential team interested in Simmons.
He is expected to meet with the organization, per Chris Haynes, which is noteworthy as Houston has been hesitant to make any changes to their very promising young core.
Houston already has a top-five defense this season even without Simmons, and they get especially good productivity from Amen Thompson and Tari Eason.
