The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets are potential landing spots for Ben Simmons if his contract gets bought out by the Brooklyn Nets, according

The Brooklyn Nets are working on a buyout of Ben Simmons' contract, ESPN reported Thursday. Simmons is in the final season of a five-year, $177.2 million deal. He is being paid $40.3 million this season.

Thursday’s trade deadline came and went, and the Nets were silent. There were rumblings that veterans such as Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe could be on the move, but no deals were made,

Through all of the noise, the Houston Rockets stayed relatively quiet, making two minor moves. The first was exchanging second-round picks with the Boston Celtics, as Jaden Springer was the only player involved in the deal. He would eventually be waived, per Mike Scotto of HoopsHype.

While their Western Conference competitors engineered seismic deals that altered the NBA landscape — trading for Luka Dončić, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler and De’Aaron Fox — the Houston Rockets remained at a relative standstill as Thursday’s NBA trade deadline passed.

The Houston Rockets only made minor deals at the 2025 NBA trade deadline. But the results of some other teams' deadline activity make Houston's future look much brighter.

Mired in their first three-game losing skid of the season, the Houston Rockets will try to stop the streak on the second night of a back-to-back at Barclays Center vs. the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 4.

Analyzing Thursday’s Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.