Nets believe Ben Simmons can recharge his batteries
The 76ers' Ben Simmons reacts during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff series against the Nets on April 23, 2019, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
MIAMI
Who is Ben Simmons?
Is he the versatile young star who was named Rookie of the Year and made three All-Star appearances in his first four seasons in the NBA? Is he one of the most potential-laden young players in the league, an exciting facilitator with great vision and speed who also is one of the best perimeter defenders?
Or is he the confused, hurt 25-year-old who hasn’t played a game all season after feuding with his teammates and coach? Is he the player who just can’t get past the fact that 76ers coach Doc Rivers threw him under the bus at the end of last season?
(In an unguarded moment after the 76ers’ painful Game 7 loss to the Hawks, when a reporter asked Rivers if he thought Simmons could be the point guard of a championship team, he replied, "I don’t know the answer to that right now.")
So who is Ben Simmons?
The Nets believe they have the answer.
They believe that Simmons, the key acquisition in Thursday’s blockbuster trade with the 76ers, can flourish in a new, supportive environment.
They believe that with some nurturing, he can become a big-time player. And they already have the perfect nurturer on the roster to jump-start Simmons’ emotional rehab.
"I’ve got his back. I’ve always had his back," fellow Aussie Patty Mills said Thursday after the trade became official. "And now I have the opportunity to be with him. I’ve always had his back from afar. I wish I was with him earlier in his career."
Mills and Simmons both began their basketball careers at the Australian Institute of Sports. Mills, 33, said he watched Simmons grow up and that he’s close to him and his family. He also revealed that he talks to Simmons frequently.
"He’s in a really good place right now," Mills said. "I’m speaking to him a fair bit lately seeing what he’s been up to in terms of staying ready, getting his body right and getting game-ready, I guess. It was good and pleasing for me to see and feel where he’s at. From that standpoint, you get a really hungry person who’s looking forward to playing basketball again, and especially with our group."
In other words, the Nets are getting a player who wants to be there. That, of course, is the big reason they had to deal James Harden in the first place.
Harden was unhappy, and his attitude was bringing the Nets down. Way down.
As loss after loss piled up, the Nets could no longer cling to the fiction that everything was going to be OK once they got to the All-Star break. There were no guarantees that Kevin Durant was going to be back right away at 100%, no guarantees that the city of New York suddenly would reverse its vaccination mandate allowing Kyrie Irving to play full-time and no guarantees that Harden suddenly would be a happy camper.
You have to respect Nets general manager Sean Marks for pulling the trigger on this. Marks traded away a lot to get Harden and form the Big 3 last season. It couldn’t have been easy to admit that the plan no longer was working.
"Those decisions to move on from a player of that caliber are never easy ones," Marks said in a Zoom conference on Friday.
Marks said he has spoken twice to Simmons since the trade — once on the phone and once in person when he arrived in Brooklyn to get his physical — and added that he is impressed with his attitude.
Said Marks: "All I can tell you is he was ecstatic about the circumstances he’s walking into and so are we."
Of course, Harden was pretty happy when he landed here.
Will Simmons be able to fit in on this team the way Harden apparently didn’t? The Nets are betting he will, that he is someone who just needs a second chance and a change of venue.
It’s going to be interesting to see if they are right.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
