Dallas Basketball

Ben Simmons Trade Rumor: Could Mavs Be West Team Nets Contacted?

With turmoil brewing in Brooklyn, Ben Simmons has been linked in trade rumors to a mystery Western Conference team.
Michael Mulford|
Ben Simmons Trade Rumor: Could Mavs Be West Team Nets Contacted?
Ben Simmons Trade Rumor: Could Mavs Be West Team Nets Contacted?

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Dallas MavericksBrooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets haven't gotten off to an ideal start to the 2022-23 regular season, to say the least. 

On top of playing below-average basketball paired with Kyrie Irving's recent promotion of an antisemitic film, Nets coach Steve Nash was fired — or mutually parted ways — on Tuesday morning prior to Brooklyn’s 108-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls, bringing their record to 2-6 on the season.

As for the below-average basketball being played, Ben Simmons has played a considerable part in that. He has yet to return to his All-NBA form following his departure from Philadelphia and numerous injuries. Simmons has seemed disinterested at times and frankly looks scared on the offensive end of the floor, avoiding any and all chances to shoot the ball. 

Ian Begley of SNYtv reported on Tuesday that the Nets have had discussions on “cursory trade ideas” in efforts to improve the team's shooting. Simmons’ name apparently came up in those trade discussions with one Western Conference team. 

Now, who that Western Conference team is, is unknown. But could it possibly be the Dallas Mavericks?

The Mavericks are indeed a Western Conference team and have a number of veteran shooters, as Begley noted was the focus for the Nets. For Dallas, acquiring a talent like Simmons would've been more appealing prior to the end of his run in Philadelphia, but his lingering injury history on top of his contract and recent dispiriting play shouldn't entice Nico Harrison and company to come calling.

Though, if Dallas were interested, a framework of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Davis Bertans for Simmons would fit the bill monetarily. Would that scratch the shooter itch for Brooklyn enough to part with the upside of Simmons, despite the somewhat depleted trade value?

At this point with how dysfunctional the Nets' situation looks, nothing would come as a surprise.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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