Sean Marks: We’ve had our eyes on Ben Simmons for a long time

But now that the Simmons part of the situation is resolved by way of the trade that sent him from Philadelphia to Brooklyn, with his season-long decision not to play on track to end in the somewhat near future, it’s worth wondering what the ripple effect of it all might be. On the business side, you had owners who privately griped about how it was a disaster scenario to have a star choose to be sidelined with three more seasons left on his deal. -via The Athletic / February 21, 2022

But Simmons blew away all modern precedent last summer, demanding a trade from Philadelphia with four full seasons left on his contract. “This one just went over the line,” said another Eastern Conference executive. -via Sports Illustrated / February 20, 2022

Worse, in the view of some executives, is that Simmons had signed the so-called rookie supermax extension—a mechanism specifically created by the league to keep young stars with their teams. Indeed, nearly every wrinkle the league has adopted in its labor deals over the last decade has either backfired or been rendered moot by empowered (and increasingly wealthy) players dictating their own career paths, no matter what the contract says. -via Sports Illustrated / February 20, 2022