Getty Ben Simmons and Kevin Durant.
The Ben Simmons saga has engulfed two teams now with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers before them.
After trading James Harden to the Sixers in exchange for the defensive stalwart, the expectation was that he’d be ready to go as the third option for the Nets and at least play a role, no matter how big or little.
What ended up transpiring was Simmons not playing a single game for the Nets in both the regular season and the playoffs.
There are now big question marks about what Simmons can even bring to the table at this point as the next time he can suit up will now be more than one year away from his last NBA game. For somebody who’s expected to play an important role on a championship contending team, this is certainly not ideal.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Nets players were wondering if Simmons even wanted to play at all.
What’s Happening?
GettyBen Simmons hasn’t played for the Nets yet.
After missing the entire regular season, there were reports indicating Simmons would be ready to make his debut in the series against the Celtics.
Eventually the target was set at Game 4, but after the Nets fell into an 0-3 hole, Simmons ended up never debuting. The team said it was because of back soreness, and Simmons was not even on the bench as the Nets were swept by the Celtics.
While his injury was never in doubt by the players, Charania says some wondered if he had any real desire to play for the team this year.
“For Nets players, the confusion was not centered around Simmons’ ailment, but with the perceived lack of attempt to play, effort to be in uniform and push his body in these high-stakes playoffs, sources said,” Charania wrote. “Nets players and coaches wanted to see Simmons show resolve and enter this series to start his on-court Brooklyn tenure, even if it was for limited minutes on Monday or none at all while still dressing for the game.”
Head coach Steve Nash concludes that it was certainly an interesting situation, and ultimately the decision comes down to Simmons himself.
“I said it recently that part of the decision has to be Ben’s,” Nash said. “I think that he has to be all in, so that is part of the question. That’s fair. It’s not all on Ben. it’s not like, ‘Oh come on. He didn’t play.’ No, this is a unique situation. He’s never played with his teammates and to go into a playoff situation after a long period of inactivity and injury, it’s not straightforward. So there shouldn’t be any conclusions made either way.”
Simmons is Sticking Around
GettyNets star Ben Simmons.
There seems to be little reason to suspect the Nets would find a way to move on from Simmons in the offseason, so he’ll be working with the team in the offseason to get ready.
If the Nets come into the new season with a healthy Simmons, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, then that’s a team capable of winning a title on paper. They’ll still need to fill out the roster around them, and it’ll need to be done for cheap considering the salary those three players alone command.
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