{"id":22894,"date":"2023-03-28T21:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/28\/the-red-flag-in-ben-simmons-sad-decline-and-the-big-question-that-will-decide-australians-nba-future\/"},"modified":"2023-03-28T21:09:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:09:00","slug":"the-red-flag-in-ben-simmons-sad-decline-and-the-big-question-that-will-decide-australians-nba-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/28\/the-red-flag-in-ben-simmons-sad-decline-and-the-big-question-that-will-decide-australians-nba-future\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018red flag\u2019 in Ben Simmons\u2019 sad decline… and the \u2018big question\u2019 that will decide Australian\u2019s NBA future"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It was always seemingly heading this way and perhaps Zach Lowe, senior writer for ESPN<\/i>, said it best on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI long ago operated under the assumption we would not see Ben Simmons until next year,\u201d Lowe said on \u2018NBA Today\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo it barely even registered on my Twitter and it\u2019s just sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now<\/a> ><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

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Wed, 29 Mar<\/p>\n

Wednesday March 29th<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Gordon delivers DUNKFEST for Nuggets | 01:06<\/p>\n

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Once again, Simmons finds himself at a crossroads. Initially there was optimism that the departure of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving opened up an opportunity for Simmons to make strides \u2014 and mistakes \u2014 without the same intense spotlight at Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

But instead, the 26-year-old\u2019s season came to a premature end, with the Nets confirming on Wednesday what had already been long accepted \u2014 that Simmons would not be coming back<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen will not be joining us the rest of the year and through the playoffs,\u201d coach Jacque Vaughn said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter consulting with our doctors, multiple specialists, he\u2019s just going to begin a rehab program. Our doctors and the specialists feel and think that he\u2019ll have a full recovery so that starts now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons hasn\u2019t played for Brooklyn since its final game before the All-Star break and even when he was on the court there wasn\u2019t much clarity over his exact role in the new-look Nets.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s been changing all year, so it\u2019s hard to really understand what\u2019s going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Coach Vaughn said on Wednesday that the \u201cgoal\u201d for Brooklyn is to get Simmons, who has another two years remaining on his contract, back to the player he was. <\/p>\n

But what exactly that <\/i>version of Simmons looks like is uncertain at this point. After all, the Australian showed flashes this season but struggled to assert himself on the offensive end with any real consistency. <\/p>\n

That may come with more confidence in both his body and role on the team. Although it\u2019s hard to see Simmons playing at level that justifies the nearly $80 million he is owed over the next two years ($37.9 million in 2023-24 and $40.3 million in 2024-25).<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just thinking immediately when I heard this news that he\u2019s probably the most expensive player in basketball relative to his production in the way that is not the best,\u201d WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike said on \u2018NBA Today\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly giving you six points six, rebounds six assists, career-lows across the board and you\u2019re paying him that much? That makes you very expensive in the worst ways possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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27pts, 17reb, 7ast… Giddey explosion! | 00:41<\/p>\n

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But the fact that Simmons was not traded along with Irving and Durant before this year\u2019s deadline spoke to just how hard it will be for Brooklyn to move off his contract. <\/p>\n

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks said at the time of the Irving deal with Dallas that Simmons had \u201czero trade value\u201d around the league. <\/p>\n

And so perhaps it is in Brooklyn\u2019s best interests to persist with Simmons and hope the three-time All-Star shows enough to recuperate some value and make him worth trading in the first place.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, it is likely the Nets will end up adding draft compensation to dump Simmons\u2019 salary to a rebuilding team with cap space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think about the big picture here, the Nets can\u2019t afford to give up on a player like that because of the contract and the situation that they\u2019re in,\u201d Ogwumike said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are not many buyers there for it. But the big question here is, will Ben Simmons give up on himself? <\/p>\n

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What is next for Ben Simmons? Dustin Satloff\/Getty Images\/AFP<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt feels like we\u2019re witnessing him in this situation, this season, sort of give up on himself because you think about confidence offensively, he was never really that huge offensive, go-to player even though he averaged double figures in seasons past. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut defensively is where he gets his bread and butter and you look at, \u2018Okay, if you\u2019re going to try to find defensive confidence, what are the numbers?\u2019 They\u2019re only one point better defensively when he\u2019s on the floor and that to me is another red flag.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do think that the silver lining here is just the idea that he switched agency, he switches representation, now they\u2019re saying let\u2019s reset for next year and maybe that whole time will be a better fresh start for him to really feel better when he comes back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowe, meanwhile, said the moves the Nets made at the deadline meant they are ready to confidently move into the post-Durant, Irving era \u2014 \u201cwith or without Simmons\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Ben Simmons is chasing his past self at Philadelphia. (Photo by Mitchell Leff \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou just hope we can come back and see the Ben Simmons that we used to see \u2014 16-6-6, All-Defensive level defence, that guy,\u201d Lowe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the Nets really have moved on. When you look at what they got for Durant, what they got for Kyrie, all the picks they got, all of that stuff \u2014 they\u2019ve kind of moved on to the next phase of the franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former NBA player Richard Jefferson though took a very different position on the Simmons situation.<\/p>\n

For him, the Australian\u2019s decline is neither unusual nor unfamiliar. It\u2019s just how it is in professional sport. Not everyone makes it, irrespective of how talented they may be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the best way to say this is that we root for every player, we know how hard it is to get here, we know how hard it is to get drafted, a second contract,\u201d Jefferson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut do I have any emotional feeling towards it now? No, because we\u2019ve seen it all before. We\u2019ve seen players with all the talent in the world not making it. We\u2019ve seen players with all the talent in the world decide to just move on and step away from the game. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you ask me about Ben Simmons, I know a lot of guys like that… if this is his story and this is how it finishes, then I wish him the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Reaves shines in Lakers home win | 00:56<\/p>\n

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The curious case of Simmons though will always draw attention given the way his career started, compared to Magic Johnson and later drafted by the Sixers with the first overall pick.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not like the comparisons were unwarranted or pure fantasy either, with Simmons living up to the hype early in his career with a historic rookie campaign.<\/p>\n

Even more recently, the 26-year-old put up three consecutive All-Star seasons and re-established his position as one of the league\u2019s best and most versatile defenders.<\/p>\n

This season though, Simmons averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 42 games for Brooklyn \u2014 all career-low numbers.<\/p>\n

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Ben Simmons walks on stage after being drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. Mike Stobe\/Getty Images\/AFP<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think this is interesting just because of the great expectations when he came into the league,\u201d Ogwumike said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like that prodigy, he was that phenom and there were great expectations on him. A lot of comps to LeBron James in how he was able to facilitate the ball and then he goes to a team where he\u2019s successful. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just this rapid decline that unfortunately is circumstantial. You look at the Brooklyn Nets overall. They had so many stars, they\u2019re all gone and now the star remaining is the one that probably is the hardest one to try to revive and that\u2019s a difficult place as a franchise, that\u2019s a difficult place as a player to be. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a transitional year but nonetheless we haven\u2019t seen any evidence to feel like we feel better about it. And you\u2019re right we\u2019ve all been there, we\u2019ve all been injured, we\u2019ve all been traded but I think it\u2019s the expectations and the microscope on Ben Simmons that makes this unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ben Simmons has been shut down for the rest of the season. (Photo by Justin Ford\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was only a few years ago that Simmons was among the elite players in the league. Heck \u2014 in 2021 he finished 12th in MVP voting. <\/p>\n

But even if he doesn\u2019t get back to that place again and instead is more of a solid role player, at least that\u2019s something the Nets \u2014 and Simmons \u2014 can build off.<\/p>\n

For former NBA player Jalen Rose though, it will all come back to whether Simmons has the \u201cmental fortitude\u201d to reinvent himself and approach, including to his shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cPsychologically is he going to have the mental fortitude, once he gets back healthy, to reinvent himself as a role player, because that\u2019s what he\u2019s going to be called upon to be going forward,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this game is so very hard when you can\u2019t shoot. Psychologically, I always felt he was going to the bucket finishing with his right hand, but going to the free-throw line shooting with his left hand and I felt the entire time, he was shooting with the incorrect hand. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo for a guy that played on the perimeter who doesn\u2019t shoot shots outside of the paint at all, that\u2019s another psychological barrier that he\u2019s going to have to get over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was always seemingly heading this way and perhaps Zach Lowe, senior writer for ESPN, said it best on Wednesday morning. \u201cI long ago operated under the assumption we would not see Ben Simmons until next year,\u201d Lowe said on \u2018NBA Today\u2019. \u201cSo it barely even registered on my Twitter and it\u2019s just sad.\u201d Watch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[11575,2228,1800,2988,83,1736,9612,11570,1806,11578,1794,11589,1808,4172,11579,11572,11586,1788,4267,3934,11581,11573,1425,11584,2410,2639,2105,1805,6772,11582,2278,1799,11583,1803,1533,1809,1728,1622,1755,11590,11577,11588,11574,11587,2131,2702,2616,11580,11591,11585,11576,1792,3024,11571],"class_list":{"0":"post-22894","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-aaron-gordon","9":"tag-agence-france-presse","10":"tag-america","11":"tag-andrew-jackson","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","14":"tag-back-injury","15":"tag-basketball-relative","16":"tag-ben-simmons","17":"tag-bobby-marks","18":"tag-brooklyn","19":"tag-bucket-finishing","20":"tag-california","21":"tag-cap-space","22":"tag-career-low-numbers","23":"tag-defensive-confidence","24":"tag-elite-players","25":"tag-espn-inc","26":"tag-ezra-shaw","28":"tag-free-throw-line-shooting","29":"tag-front-office-insider","30":"tag-getty-images-inc","31":"tag-historic-rookie-campaign","32":"tag-jacque-vaughn","33":"tag-jalen-rose","34":"tag-kevin-durant","35":"tag-lebron-james","36":"tag-magic-johnson","37":"tag-mental-fortitude","38":"tag-mike-stobe","39":"tag-mitchell-leff","40":"tag-multiple-specialists","41":"tag-new-york","42":"tag-north-america","43":"tag-northern-america","44":"tag-oceania","45":"tag-offensive-end","46":"tag-professional-sport","47":"tag-rapid-decline","48":"tag-real-consistency","49":"tag-rebuilding-team","50":"tag-red-flag","51":"tag-richard-jefferson","52":"tag-role-player","53":"tag-sacramento","54":"tag-sacramento-kings","55":"tag-sad-slide","56":"tag-senior-writer","57":"tag-shots-outside","58":"tag-solid-role-player","59":"tag-united-states-of-america","60":"tag-zach-lowe","61":"tag-zero-trade-value"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}