Nets star Ben Simmons feels good.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith stated he bumped into Simmons and had a dialog with the star ahead who has but to play a sport in a Nets jersey.
Smith, whereas on a rant about Kevin Durant’s holdout potential in Brooklyn, stated he and Simmons are actually on higher phrases. He additionally stated Simmons instructed him he’s able to play – now.
“He’s ready to go,” Smith stated Monday morning on ESPN’s First Take. “He swears he’s ready to go.”
This is a optimistic growth for Simmons, whose lingering again troubles required a midseason epidural and finally a microdiscectomy process this offseason.
Simmons didn’t play the entrance half of the season citing psychological well being points that saved him off the ground whereas he pressured a commerce from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Nets for James Harden. When he arrived in Brooklyn, he continued to quote psychological well being points, however whereas ramping up his conditioning, Simmons aggravated a again damage that dated again to 2020.
A wholesome Simmons is crucial for the Nets’ probabilities of assembling a aggressive staff, no matter Durant’s standing. Durant requested a commerce on June 30, then reiterated that request to Nets governor Joe Tsai over the Aug. 7 weekend, issuing Tsai an ultimatum: both commerce him, or hearth each common supervisor Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash.
Tsai responded to reviews of the ultimatum with assist for each Marks and Nash on Twitter.
“Our front office and coaching staff have my support,” the Alibaba magnate tweeted. “We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.”
Getting a wholesome Simmons on the ground is in the most effective curiosity of the Nets, no matter whether or not or not Simmons is extra prepared to take soar photographs. When wholesome, he’s a top-three perimeter defender in all of basketball, a premier athlete and the most effective playmakers at 6′10″ the NBA has seen.
He may also play a number of positions, and the Nets plan to make use of him each as a middle and level guard.
If Simmons is wholesome and able to go for coaching camp, the Nets can proceed to compete at a excessive stage, particularly if Kyrie Irving stays a Net, motivated on a one-year deal. They may also proceed to promote Durant on staying in Brooklyn – regardless of his want to play elsewhere – as a result of a wholesome Simmons provides the Nets a Big Three that may compete for a championship.
Simons has not performed because the Atlanta Hawks eradicated his Philadelphia 76ers within the second spherical of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Both Doc Rivers and final yr’s MVP runner-up Joel Embiid blamed Simmons’ unwillingness to shoot as a piece of the explanation the staff got here up quick. Simmons took simply 4, six and 4 photographs in Games 5, 6 and seven of the sequence
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Source: www.bostonherald.com