Nets’ Ben Simmons ‘is DONE with Klutch Sports after mutually agreeing with Rich Paul to part ways’

Ben Simmons and Klutch Sports have reached a mutual decision to part ways, according to an ESPN report.

The struggling Brooklyn Nets star is still playing under the $177 million, five-year deal Rich Paul’s agency negotiated with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.

Since then, Simmons’ once-promising career has nosedived, as he’s faced criticism over his shooting struggles and inability to mesh with other NBA stars, such as Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and now-former Nets teammates, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

The Nets are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and have an excellent chance at reaching the postseason. However, their chances of advancing in the playoffs have suffered since the trade deadline, when Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks and Durant was sent to the Phoenix Suns.

Without the two elite players, there has been some speculation that the Nets might shut down Simmons for the remainder of the season as he struggles to regain the form that made him a three-time All-Star from 2019 through 2021.

Ben Simmons (right) and his then-agent Rich Paul talk at Madison Square Garden in 2016