Getty Ben Simmons formerly of the Philadelphia 76ers
Former Philadelphia 76ers no. 1 pick Ben Simmons last played on February 15 against the Miami Heat. There haven’t been many updates on where he stands health-wise, and the latest update from Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn only cast further doubt on his future.
Vaughn gave an update on where Simmons is hurting but gave no timetable on when he will be back.
“Yeah, I think, first of all, I’ll just be pretty simple. He’s still managing his back and knee soreness,” Vaughn said, per Brian Lewis of New York Post. “He’s back home in Brooklyn. We’ll get a chance to kind of see where he’s at when we get back home after this trip.”
Simmons’ first season with the Nets has not been productive compared to what he put up during his days with the Sixers. This season, he’s averaging 6.9 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.3 rebounds while attempting 5.6 shots a game. Between his injuries and his subpar performance, given his salary of $35.4 million this season, Simmons is not giving the Nets enough.
Ex-NBA Player Believes Ben Simmons May Get Bought Out
On March 1, former NBA player Chandler Parsons gave his honest thoughts on Simmons after watching him this season. Parsons believes not only are Simmons’ best days behind him, but his play has deteriorated to the point where the Nets may simply release him.
“It’s a strong mental block, in my opinion, where he just can’t overcome it,” Parsons said. “We have to stop talking about it. We have to take him for what he is. I think, eventually, it’s gonna lead to a buyout, and he’s most likely a minimum player for the rest of his career. Until he magically kind of shows that he can play and produce at a high level again, but it’s really crazy how big of a turn this has taken on a guy.”
“He’s most likely a minimum player for the rest of his career…”
@ChandlerParsons on Ben Simmons 👀
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Parsons himself was a player whose nagging injuries prematurely derailed his NBA career. Statistically, Parsons was at his peak in his third season (2013-14) in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, averaging 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and four assists a game. Then, multiple knee injuries in the years following slowed him down to the point where Parsons was no longer the player he once was. He was out of the NBA by 2020.
Parsons may be seeing similar signs in Simmons that he went through himself as a player.
Georges Niang Rips Ben Simmons
On an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic, Niang did not hold back when discussing the drama surrounding Simmons before the Sixers traded him.
“Ben Simmons kind of handicapped us at the beginning of last year,” Niang explained. “I mean, I wasn’t gonna say it, but now, you know what I mean?”
Niang then talked about what the Sixers did to try to replace Simmons’ production while he held out.
“When you’re building rosters, talking from a general manager standpoint – I don’t know how much [Simmons] makes, but it’s a max contract. So you immediately take that off the books, ‘I’m not playing,’ you have to figure it out where other role players have to step up and replace, you know, the passing, dribbling, rebounding, defense –,” Niang concluded.
Though they were technically teammates for a time last season, Simmons and Niang never played a minute together on the Sixers.