NEW YORK — Ben Simmons was waived by the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday after the team agreed to a buyout with the last remaining link to a failed era of building around All-Stars.
The No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft was not with the Nets for their victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night as the sides worked on completing the deal.
Coach Jordi Fernandez praised Simmons before the game for working his way back from a series of injuries that caused such an ineffective time in Brooklyn.
"I know that not playing for a season and then limited games another season and now fighting his way back, playing I think it was a little over 20 minutes or mid-20s," said Fernandez, in his first season with the Nets.