At the Nets' press conference, Ben Simmons appeared in the media for the first time in eight months since losing to the Atlanta Hawks, and after switching places, he showed an optimism he had never seen in the past six months.
"I think we're going to be a very scary team. Thinking that I'm going to be playing with so many good players, that we can deploy so many different weapons on the pitch at the same time, that we can play at any pace we want, it doesn't feel very real. I think playing at the Nets is going to be similar to the way I played with Redick, Ilyasova, and Belinelli early in my career. We played the Heat in the first round of the playoffs that year, and we kept the ball running, getting everybody involved in the game, giving everybody a chance to score, giving everybody a chance to contribute to the game. That's the way I like to play, and in my understanding, if you want to be a winner, you have to maximize the abilities of every player on the pitch. ”
He still wanted to play the only basketball he had ever played and was good at. Simmons is such a person. In the five years of the NBA, he never tried to leave his comfort zone, perhaps because of his upbringing as a pampered child in his family. His three-point shooting of 5 of 34 career goals also supports this.
Time has passed and there has been so much discussion about it that we may forget that the last time we saw Simmons play, he took the lead in knocking down the first domino when he crossed the empty basket behind Gallinari with a clean turn. That pass led to later criticism from Doug Rivers and Joel Embiid, and the way Simmons faced those criticisms cost him more than $20 million this season and put his 900-square-meter mansion on the outskirts of Philadelphia for sale.
Rich Paul had warned Simmons that if they forced the palace by way of a strike, the initiative would no longer belong to them. He admonished his employer: "No one's life is smooth. Playing in the NBA is a business, and each of us has something to do. You need to learn to deal with your own self-esteem and stubbornness. ”
But Simmons apparently didn't handle it well. Star players rarely shy away from criticism, on the contrary, facing criticism head-on is part of the life of an NBA star. But Simmons is clearly not an ordinary NBA star player. He didn't return any of the text messages Rivers sent him that summer because he felt his criticism had "betrayed himself." He tried to return to the team after the start of the new season at the advice of Rich Paul, but after the 76ers were fined for refusing to play, he felt "offended." He refused to accept the team's mental health services, instead seeking a mental health specialist on his own for treatment and was reluctant to vent with the 76ers staff about the details of the treatment. Finally, on October 19 of last year, Rivers asked Simmons to attend an intra-team training session, which Simmons refused. The 76ers' patience came to an end, banning him for "behaving against the team." Since that day, Simmons has actually ceased to be a 76ers player.
Now, when he came to Brooklyn. He was back in the spotlight. Durant had admired his talent so much that a year ago, when he and LeBron James live-streamed the All-Star selection, he was furious that James had chosen Simmons one step ahead of him: "Simmons is the kind of athlete who is extraordinary. He can play point guard, he can grab rebounds, he can pass, he can create shooting opportunities for everyone. I like young people like him. ”
The Nets are one of the teams with the worst defensive rebounding rates in the NBA, with Simmons having great defensive rebounds; the Nets' low three-point production, Simmons has always been good at creating space for shooters; and the Nets' outside players are lacking in size and athleticism, which happens to be Simmons' biggest strength. If Simmons can show off his talent, he can really help the Nets. But in a fierce and close series, can he really do it? If you look at Durant's expression in an interview after the trade, you can tell he's not as optimistic as Simmons.
Nash must have wanted to incorporate simmons' abilities into the Nets' game, but it wouldn't be easy. The Nets have some old friends of Simmons in the locker room, which could help him. Owen had a close personal relationship with Simmons, both of whom were born in Melbourne. Patty Mills, also from Australia, has also patted his chest and said he would help his younger brother adjust to life in Brooklyn, where Simmons' father had been mills' coach when he was 12. Nets rookie Sharp is also Simmons' younger sibling, and they studied at Montverde Academy with the same coach, Kevin Boyle.
But Simmons faces a big problem: He's likely to change his playing style. Kelly Owen needs to attack with the ball, and Kevin Durant can play without the ball, but he also needs to hold the ball to take over the game sometimes. Simmons has always seen himself as a point guard throughout his career, but on a team like the Nets, playing with Durant and Irving, he will inevitably lose some of the ball.
Some say Simmons could be their Draymond Green around Durant and Irving. Green may be the most unique player in NBA history. He's a defender of the year at the defensive player level, able to defend from the number one to the fifth position at a high level, and is likely to be one of the highest-yielding interior players in NBA history. He can grab the rebound and push the conversion directly, and can also make high-quality cover for Curry and Thompson. The template wasn't illogical, and Simmons was indeed one of the very few players who could compete with Green's rebounding protection, misplaced defense, field view, and passing techniques.
But basketball is not on paper. Simmons may indeed be taller, faster, or even stronger than Green, but you can't imagine him stepping up like Green at key moments. Like Simmons, Green is not a good shooter. He shoots just 31.5 percent from three-point range in his career. But we all remember him scoring 32 points on 6-of-7 thirds in the Finals. In the most critical game, no one dared to underestimate Green. He is always aggressive in physical confrontation, astute and cunning in making judgments, and has a leadership temperament in uniting the team and in individual expression.
Big heart, aggressiveness, teamwork, leadership. If Simmons had performed in any of these areas, he wouldn't have ended up in the field he is now. He is always pretentious but disappoints at critical moments, has a strong sense of self-esteem but is unable to interact well with people. Perhaps it was at first that the weak ring in technology made Simmons difficult, but in the end, what really disappointed everyone was his character flaws. He has never had the chance to be the "magician" Johnson or LeBron James written in his draft template, and now even if we use athletes like Green and Dennis Rodman as his benchmark, we no longer believe that he can succeed - to be that kind of athlete, you need to have a strong heart, but on the contrary, Simmons's weakest is the heart. Making such a style change would be a big challenge for everyone, and we all know that Simmons doesn't like either "change" or "challenge." You can't believe that he becomes that kind of athlete, just like you can't expect the spoiled Jia Baoyu to become the chivalrous Fang Shiyu.
The Nets' future prospects are far worse than their current eighth position in the East Side in the standings. They are currently 30-27, just 3.5 wins ahead of the 11th Wizards in the Eastern Conference. With six of his next eight games without play (four at home for the Nets, one for the New York Knicks and one for the Toronto Raptors), Durant won't be able to return until at least after the All-Star Game. The Nets need Simmons to play in time to stop their slump.
But as we expected, during the roughly 20 minutes of meeting reporters, Simmons talked about how he handled his mental health issues, talked about his breakup with the 76ers, talked about how he stayed in shape without playing games (weightlifting, pilates, playing three-on-three and four-on-four mini-games), talked about the role he could play at the Nets, and said nothing about when he would play his first game for the Nets.
On March 11, the Nets will travel to the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, which will be a high-profile battle. At the press conference, reporters asked Simmons if he could play in that game against Joel Embiid, who had previously attacked him on the basketball court and on social media. Simmons' answer was as weak as his previous on-course temperament.
He said: "I wish I could. ”