What’s Next For Ben Simmons?
In February, the Brooklyn Nets acquired Ben Simmons in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. That deal also included Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first round picks going to Brooklyn, while Paul Milsap joined Harden in Philadelphia.
Many pundits would argue that the Sixers got the better hand in the deal. Not only did they acquire the services of James Harden, but they also got rid of their Ben Simmons media circus in one fell swoop. It may have cost them a valuable role player in Curry, as well as picks, but at the end of the day, Harden is at least playing, while Nets fans are left wondering whether Simmons will ever even suit up for the team.
The Drama
Prior to the 2021-2022 regular season, Ben Simmons requested a trade following a disappointing performance during the 2021 playoffs.
When the Sixers stood firm in their desire to get a high level player in return rather than selling for cents on the dollar, Ben Simmons elected not to report to the team events or media availabilities. The stalemate dragged into training camp, with Simmons missing the team’s first two preseason games for the 2021-2022 season. As a result, the Sixers began fining Simmons for his absences, a measure that’s currently playing out in the form of a grievance filed by Simmons’ camp.
While he eventually reported back to the team last October, that didn’t mean he was ready to play. The drama escalated to the point that the team kicked the top pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of practice and suspended him for one game because of a perceived lack of effort.
From that point on, Simmons and the 76ers were in constant tension. Negotiations between Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, and the team, went back and forth until February 10, 2022, when the Brooklyn deal finally materialized.
No Ben Simmons for Brooklyn. Yet
When the deal was announced, everyone expected that Ben Simmons would provide the defensive boost James Harden couldn’t for the Nets. The knock on Simmons had always been that he was sound defensively, but far too passive on the offensive end of the floor. But with Kyrie and KD in Brooklyn, he wouldn’t be expected to shoulder much of a scoring load for the Nets.
While it sounded great on paper, it never materialized as the 25-year-old guard from LSU hasn’t played a single minute for Brooklyn.
Simmons’ absence hurt the Nets in the 2022 playoffs as the team found themselves taking an early vacation after a first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
The Aussie’s future remains clouded in Brooklyn even as the Nets announced that Simmons would be undergoing surgery to deal with his back problems. However, it’s not the question of whether he’s physically ready to play next season and beyond. It’s more a question of whether the Nets view him as a viable component of their roster moving forward.
What’s Next?
Aside from the drama that followed Simmons, injuries to Kevin Durant and Joe Harris hampered the Nets throughout the 2021-2022 season.
Brooklyn now has an entire offseason to get themselves healthy and ready for the 2022-2023 campaign. The Nets don’t necessarily need to make moves this offseason. If they think that a healthy Kyrie/KD/Simmons combination is enough to make a run at a title next year few could blame them. But there are rumours that the Nets front office, as well as a few players, feel misled regarding the former 76er’s health before the deal was finalized.
While trading Ben Simmons would be a baseless move on paper, as the Nets need his defense and tertiary scoring to ease the offensive pressure off Durant and Irving, chemistry is a fickle thing. Simmons remains under team control until 2025, but coming off a year where Kyrie’s vaccination status created as many storylines as the Nets on court play, whether Brooklyn wants to go through another season of “will he or won’t he play” with Simmons, is up for debate.
If the trio of Simmons, Irving, and Durant finds the right balance and is healthy, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Of course in order for that to happen though, Ben Simmons has to finally suit up.
-Iggy Gonzales
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