Nets shopping Ben Simmons will make Raptors fans thankful for Masai Ujiri

Once upon a time, the Toronto Raptors were among the leaders in the clubhouse when it came to prying All-NBA point-forward Ben Simmons away from the Philadelphia 76ers. Eventually, the Brooklyn Nets brought him to town after the James Harden debacle. The return on their investment hasn’t been amazing, unfortunately.

While the Nets actually managed to land a haul of unprotected draft picks and standout young players led by Mikal Bridges in the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trades, part of the reason the raptors felt so good about buying to win in the East was the idea that Simmons is going to weigh on Brooklyn like an anchor.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Nets are going to gauge Simmons’ trade value in the offseason, though they could get back just pennies on the dollar for a player that has fallen off a cliff in the last few years. Imagine being in the universe where Simmons is doing this for the Raptors.

Anything Brooklyn will try to build with the goal of challenging the Raptors is going to be undermined by Simmons’ poor performance. While some fans may not like how Masai Ujiri can often be too passive in trade talks, his restraint with rregardto the Simmons question should be applauded.

Nets shopping Ben Simmons is a win for Toronto Raptors’ Masai Ujiri.

Simmons is averaging just 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game while showing a legitimate decline in his defensive skills. Simmons is earning max money and was the centerpiece of the Harden trade, yet he has not scored more than 12 points in a game since a November 25 loss against the Pacers.

During the Tampa bubble offseason, names like Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and even Pascal Siakam were connected to Philadelphia with varying degrees of seriousness. Even before the deadline, Ujiri and Simmons were linked once again.

Luckily, Ujiri decided to hold off on acquiring Simmons, instead choosing to hold his assets before sending Lowry to Miami for Precious Achiuwa in 2021.

Not only is he in possession of a team that won 48 games in 2021-22 and has plans to return to the postseason in 2023-24, but he also won the Lowry-Achiuwa deal. Acquiring the Simmons we see in Brooklyn would have been an indelible, disqualifying move.

Ujiri can be criticized for his fair share of missteps in the last few years, but he knew better than to take the Simmons plunge. Even though the nets are building something very interesting post-Durant, the Simmons contract threatens to upset everything.