| The Nets used up their last portion of relevance on Thursday with the announcement that Ben Simmons would be out for the rest of the season.
And though there is one year remaining on his contract, the team's statement made plenty of people wonder whether the 27-year-old would ever play for the Nets — or anyone else — again.
It's a fair question, especially considering Simmons' history.
It probably shouldn't come as a surprise, considering that when the Nets acquired him just over two years ago in the megadeal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia, Simmons already was showing a knack for being unavailable.
At the time, he hadn't played at all that season for the 76ers: Simmons held out and dealt with mental health issues after having already missed time with a myriad of physical woes.
 By the end of this season, Ben Simmons will have played in less than 30 percent of the games he could have since being traded to the Nets.
AP
"I've had some dark times over the last six months, and I'm just happy to be in this situation with this team and organization," Simmons said in his introductory press conference following his arrival in Brooklyn.
"People are gonna say what they want. They've said it the last six months and I haven't commented and it is what it is. People are always gonna have their own opinions. … But I think just the way everybody's welcomed me here has been great. It's been a very positive experience, just being here so far. And I'm looking forward to what's to come."
He shouldn't have.
Even then, we should have known something was amiss as Simmons added: "Super excited to get out there eventually and play."
Simmons ended up missing the rest of that season, including the playoffs, and has played in a total of just 57 of 192 possible regular-season games for the Nets, putting up by far the worst numbers of his career. By the end of this season, he'll have collected $86.3 million in salary while with the Nets.
The three-headed monster of Simmons, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was even less productive than the Harden-Durant-Irving version.
 For all the Nets hoped to win with James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the franchise won one playoff series in its Big 3 era.
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What's worse, the Nets would watch Harden, Durant and Irving have varying degrees of success elsewhere. Now, all three are in postseason contention in the competitive Western Conference.
The Nets, on the other hand, are almost certain to miss out on even the play-in round, enter a summer in which they don't have a pick in the NBA draft and will have to figure out what to do on the bench after making four coaching changes since the 2019-20 season.
Simmons has played 10,790 regular-season minutes since being drafted first overall by the Sixers in 2016. That's good for 1,106th in league history. The next player on that list? Knicks 2019 lottery pick R.J. Barrett, who comes in at 10,746 and counting.
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All eyes on Yamamoto The Yoshinobu Yamamoto show is just getting started in Los Angeles — well, technically, Arizona — and at first glance, the rookie right-hander with the most expensive contract for a starting pitcher in MLB history appeared to have a shaky outing Wednesday against the White Sox.
He allowed five runs, all earned, on six hits and walked three in just three innings.
The Dodgers have just two weeks to get ready for their March 20 opener against the Padres in Seoul, South Korea.
But looks — or, in this case, box scores — can be deceiving.
 Yoshinobu Yamamoto works in spring training after spurning the Yankees and Mets to sign with the Dodgers on the biggest deal for a pitcher in MLB history.
AP
Despite the ugly numbers, the 25-year-old who was the top free agent outside of new teammate Shohei Ohtani was actually just fine in his second spring training start.
As detailed on X by Rob Friedman (aka @PitchingNinja), five of the six hits surrendered by Yamamoto came on soft contact grounders that either didn't or shouldn't have left the infield.
Yamamoto bemoaned the three walks he gave up, but attributed that to becoming accustomed to pitching out of the stretch and getting acclimated to different mounds in MLB after spending the first part of his career in Japan.
Still, after a high-profile free agency that saw him shun both the Yankees and the Mets, all eyes will be on Yamamoto for the foreseeable future. And sooner rather than later, his results will matter a lot more than they did against Chicago.
Knicks on the clock  The Knicks' defense has slipped since the arrival of Bojan Bogdanovic with some of their regulars sidelined.
Getty Images
The Knicks never make it easy.
As The Post's Stefan Bondy has noted, since the arrival of Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from Detroit, the Knicks are just 3-8 and have the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA, which is something that goes against everything head coach Tom Thibodeau stands for.
That figures to change once OG Anunoby returns from elbow surgery, with Thibodeau noting after Thursday's practice that the valuable swingman has been cleared for contact and "doing some 5-on-5 work."
And the team will no doubt improve overall whenever Julius Randle gets back from his shoulder injury, which is expected before the end of the regular season.
But the Knicks, who are in danger of falling into the play-in zone, have just 20 games left beginning with Friday's matchup against the Magic. They seem likely to have just a handful of games prior to the playoffs for everyone to play together.
 Now cleared for contact, OG Anunoby may be nearing a much-needed return for the Knicks as they jockey for playoff position.
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Despite Thibodeau's coaching acumen, that's not a lot of time to create chemistry and cohesion, which could put a once promising Knicks season in serious jeopardy.
Though Anunoby exceeded expectations after his arrival from Toronto earlier in the season, Bogdanovic and Burks have struggled since being acquired from Detroit.
Each player's scoring, shooting and assists are down during their brief tenures with the Knicks, perhaps the result of being exposed in larger roles than were anticipated due to the amount of injuries the Knicks have dealt with.
What we're reading 👀 🏀 Caitlin Clark begins her last postseason with Iowa on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against a Penn State team that has defended her well in five previous meetings, writes Howie Kussoy. Check out the matchup at 6;30 p.m. (Big Ten Network).
⚾ Why the Mets could be the Yankees' biggest competition to sign Juan Soto this coming offseason.
⚾ Pete Alonso's looming free agency hasn't stopped him from continuing to embrace his role with the Mets and in New York City, writes The Post's Mike Vaccaro.
🏈 We can't imagine a much more unpleasant thought for Giants fans than to see Saquon Barkley suiting up for an NFC East rival, but that may become a reality if the Eagles are as interested as reports in Philly suggest.
🏒 Alex Wennberg, who took a redeye with his family to make it to New York for Thursday's practice, shared what he expects from his new Rangers role.
🏒 Don't look now, but the Islanders are hot, beating San Jose 7-2 for their fifth straight win and moving only two points out of a wild-card spot in the playoff race.
🗣 The Post's Ryan Glasspiegel reported Pat McAfee mf-ed Stephen A. Smith over the phone in a bit of ESPN-on-ESPN crime, even if they're making nice now.
🏎 The latest twist in the F1 sexting scandal involves discipline for the woman who was messaging with Red Bull principal Christian Horner.
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