Getty Ben Simmons is unsure when he'll make his Nets debut.
Ben Simmons spoke publicly for the first time on February 15 since June 20, 2021. The All-Star was introduced as a member of the Brooklyn Nets and is looking forward to starting the next chapter of his career after his run with the Philadelphia 76ers ended on a bad note.
The Nets acquired Simmons from the Sixers in the blockbuster James Harden trade. Brooklyn traded Harden and Paul Millsap to Philadelphia for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks.
Simmons was on the Nets’ bench on February 14 when BKN defeated the Sacramento Kings, a good sign that he’s doing well mentally. However, the lefty told Nets reporters he doesn’t “have a date yet” for his Brooklyn debut.
Simmons Unsure When He’ll Play, Excited to Play with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving
Simmons is still seeing a therapist so he can get mentally ready to play with the Nets. While the LSU product is uncertain when he’ll play again, he believes he’ll mesh well with Durant and Irving.
“I think it’s going to be scary,” Simmons said of playing with Durant and Irving, via Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Having those guys running alongside me, multiple different weapons on the floor. And I think at the pace we want to play at, it’s going to be unreal.”
Simmons said he’s been dealing with mental health issues before the Sixers’ seven-game series loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 playoffs. He wants to make sure he’s in a good place before he plays for the Nets, who are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
“For me, it was just making sure mentally I was right to get out there and play again,” Simmons said. “So that’s something I’ve been dealing with. And it wasn’t about the [Philadelphia] fans, or coaches or comments made by anybody. It was just a personal thing for me. That was earlier than that series [against the Atlanta Hawks] or even that season that I was dealing with, and [the Sixers] knew that. So it is something that I continue to deal with and I’m getting there and getting to the right place to get back on the floor.”
After Simmons won the 2017-18 Rookie of the Year Award, most Sixers fans thought he would spend his entire career in Philadelphia. However, things got really bad for the three-time All-Star, so much so that Sixers fanatics booed him at home games in the 2021 playoffs and burned his jersey after the Hawks series.
Simmons requested a trade from the Sixers during the offseason and finally got his wish several months later. The All-NBA defender was asked by Nets reporters why things got so inadequate in Philadelphia and he gave an honest answer.
Simmons: ‘It Just Got to a Place Where I Don’t Think It Was Good for Me Mentally’
Simmons has career averages of 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists. However, he has only made five 3-pointers since entering the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick and is frequently reluctant to shoot wide-open shots from the perimeter.
The Nets are certainly hopeful Simmons has gotten past the mental block of shooting jumpers. Sixers fans and management often pressured Simmons to shoot and that took a toll on him.
“If I knew, I would tell you everything,” Simmons said when asked why things got so bad in Philadelphia. “But there’s just a lot of things internally that had to happen over time. And it just got to a place where I don’t think it was good for me mentally. So it is what it is. It happened, and [I’m] moving forward.”
Simmons hopes to be ready to play by March 10, when the Nets take on the Sixers in Philadelphia. He’s going to get heavily booed in that game if he plays.