In February, the blockbuster James Harden-Ben Simmons trade looked like a win for both sides — but that was assuming the latter would play.

Now the Sixers are a win from advancing, while the Nets are on the brink of elimination — and two months since the trade, Simmons still hasn’t suited up. 

According to reports, when he told the team he wouldn’t play Monday, he was met with “surprise and disappointment.”

The Simmons experiment is just the latest failure in a very underwhelming season for a team with the second-biggest payroll ($174.8M) in the NBA.

• The Nets traded Harden and Paul Millsap to Philly for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks.
• Despite shooting 41% (2nd-worst in career), Harden is on the court and a pivotal piece in Philadelphia’s title pursuit.
• Simmons is owed $113.7 million through 2025.

Perhaps Brooklyn saved face by avoiding the five-year, $260 million extension Harden will reportedly demand this summer — but the Nets have already committed $116.4 million to Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Simmons for next season.

One year removed from an Eastern Conference Semifinals, Brooklyn — the third Finals favorite entering the postseason — is likely headed for a first-round exit.

Meanwhile, Simmons will be watching from the sidelines “pain free.”

Last season, Twins outfielder Byron Buxton finally displayed the talent that made him MLB’s top prospect in 2014 and ’15 — and compelled Minnesota to take a long-term gamble on him despite persistent injury woes. 

Those concerns haven’t exactly gone away — he’s already missed a week this season with a right knee injury — but the good news is that Buxton’s breakout has continued into 2022.

On Sunday, he belted two home runs against the White Sox — including a titanic 10th-inning walkoff blast — to seal the Twins’ fourth consecutive victory and the AL Central lead.

Early on, Buxton is justifying November’s seven-year, $100 million extension that keeps him in Minneapolis through 2028.

• He’s batting .351 with a .946 SLG (1st) and six HRs (T1).
• Despite limited AB (37), he’s produced a 1.2 WAR (T5).
• His 469-foot HR is the longest walkoff HR in the Statcast era (since 2015).

The only real knock on the 28-year-old has been his inability to stay on the field. He’s played 100-plus games just once in his eight-year career (140, 2017).

But when he’s healthy, few can match his raw talent, raising the prospect of a first AL MVP award — Buxton currently has the fourth-best odds to win (+950).

After another loss to city rivals Liverpool on Sunday, the possibility of relegation is a reality for perennial Premier League stalwarts Everton.

With six matches remaining, they’re 18th in the table and two points from safety — a position that would drop them from England’s top flight for the first time since 1951.

Though it’s difficult to nail down what went so catastrophically wrong for Everton, clues point to a string of bad returns on investment in players and managers.

• Everton’s $390.7M total transfer fee value ranks sixth in the Premier League.
• Five players — Gylfi Sigurdsson, Alex Iwobi, Yerry Mina, Michael Keane, and Jordan Pickford — cumulatively account for $183.8M of those transfer fees; all have been subject to legal trouble, injuries, or poor form this season.
• After finishing 10th last season with Carlo Ancelotti, the Toffees are 8-5-19 under three different managers this season.

A drop from the Premier League would mean at least one season of significant revenue loss.

Premier League clubs posted a combined revenue of $6.6 billion in 2018-19 — while EFL Championship clubs generated only $998.8 million.

If Everton end up relegated, they’ll at least get a cash injection to help them land on their feet — the Premier League has instituted parachute payments to relegated teams that are spread out over three years.