Is the Ben Simmons experiment a failure by the Nets?

It’s been a whirlwind of a season for the Nets, par for their course ever since they entered their super-team era in 2019.

Now that the dust has somewhat settled, and the core stars that dragged them through this mess are gone, the franchise can look towards a brighter, normalized future.

However one remnant of this era, perhaps the biggest miscalculation in a series of historically bad ones, remains.

After trading nearly every asset on their books for James Harden during the 2021 season in hopes of building an unstoppable big three, the prolific scorer saw the writing on the wall a year later, requesting a trade out of what would soon be a sinking ship.

Brooklyn’s haul for an all-time offensive talent?

Ben Simmons, a freak athlete and All-NBA Defensive Player at just 25 years of age at the time, coming off a postseason humiliation and standoff with his organization.

There were other pieces to the trade, but Simmons was the core return as a three-time reigning All-Star. General manager Sean Marks saw a still-budding star that could impact the game in multiple ways while seamlessly blending with his more score-centric superstars.

At the time, it was a logical bet.

Simmons’ career averages were 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game, on top of elite defense. He was a monster in transition and would theoretically thrive with less responsibility as the team’s connector and finisher.

There were question marks. His free throw shooting and outside shooting in general saw little improvement.

Simmons had a number of injuries under his belt. He also struggled in past postseasons, culminating in a confounding moment of meekness around the rim at a pivotal juncture.

But if the Nets could get him to play close to his regular season self, maybe even address some of these weak points in a less hostile environment, the trade would be a success. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Simmons failed to make his Brooklyn debut…