Ben Simmons was waived by the Nets on Saturday after the team agreed to a buyout with the last remaining link to a failed era of building around All-Stars.

The No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft was not with the Nets for their victory over the Heat on Friday night as the sides worked on completing the deal.

Coach Jordi Fernandez praised Simmons before the game for working his way back from a series of injuries that caused such an ineffective time in Brooklyn.

“I know that not playing for a season and then limited games another season and now fighting his way back, playing I think it was a little over 20 minutes or mid-20s,” said Fernandez, in his first season with the Nets. “So that’s pretty good. Really good to see that after going through a surgery.”

But it’s far less than the Nets hoped when they acquired the three-time All-Star in a trade for James Harden at the 2022 trade deadline.

College basketball: Jase Richardson scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the second half, lifting No. 9 Michigan State to a 86-74 win over Oregon on Saturday to give coach Tom Izzo 353 Big Ten wins to tie Bob Knight’s record. ... Chaz Lanier scored 21, Zakai Zeigler had 17 and No. 4 Tennessee beat Oklahoma 70-52 in the teams’ first meeting in 56 years. ... Curtis Jones scored 24 as No. 8 Iowa State ended a three-game skid with an 82-52 win over TCU.

NFL: Longtime NFL player and coach Dick Jauron, who led the Bears to the playoffs and was voted AP coach of the year in 2001, died Saturday. He was 74.

NHL: Seth Jarvis had two goals and two assists, and the Hurricanes beat Utah 7-3 on Saturday to stop a three-game losing streak.

Soccer: Harry Maguire scored a controversial injury time winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 and move into the last 16 of the FA Cup on Friday.