As Brooklyn Nets point guard Ben Simmons gears up for his seventh NBA season, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez “has been down to Florida to visit [him] as he comes back from surgery for a herniated disk,” per the New York Post’s Brian Lewis. The 28-year-old has “been cleared for 5-on-5 and should be ready for training camp,” Lewis adds.
Ben Simmons Takes Next Step In Return From Back Surgery
Simmons hasn’t played since Feb. 26, tallying 14 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies in a 25-point win. He had missed three of the previous 11 games for rest and to rest an ailing knee, averaging 5.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.0 steal per game since returning from an early-season back injury that had kept him out for nearly three months.
For a former No. 1 pick, those numbers were an eyesore. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green might put up similar counting stats. However, Green –a former second-round pick –is judged relative to his draft position, like everybody else. Furthermore, Simmons was once hailed as another Magic Johnson-slash-LeBron James; a game-changer. Nowadays, Simmons’s basketball IQ and passing ability are still worthy of such comparisons. Yet, his performance has significantly declined since he left the Philadelphia 76ers.
Named an All-Star in all but his rookie season, Simmons left the Sixers with averages of 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. His gigantic size, blinding speed, and exceptional court vision did have him looking a lot like Johnson. His basketball IQ, all-around ability, and scoring punch lent itself to those James comparisons. Sure, he didn’t take a lot of jumpers, believing that his team could find a better shot than that. Nonetheless, he was living up to the hype.
The Real Problem
Now, it may not be Simmons’s fault that he has a bad back, but it’s very problematic.
The most basic reason is his inability to stay on the court. To that point, Simmons has missed 189 games over the past three seasons. Furthermore, his agent is telling him not to be so aggressive on the boards so that he can preserve his health. This impacts his play, particularly with Simmons being at his best when leading the break. He’s certainly not attacking as much, averaging 6.7 points per game with the Nets.
While fans and talking heads on TV focus on Simmons’s jumper, it’s bigger than that. Simmons could take as many 3s as Curry and it wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t able to stay on the court. If he wasn’t willing to be aggressive.
What’s The Nets’ Plan?
It’ll be interesting to see how Fernandez uses Simmons next season. Him traveling to meet Simmons does seem like the first-time head coach values what he can bring to the team.
Though Cam Thomas is looking to take the next step in his career, it may turn out that he comes off the bench next season due to his score-first mentality. Nonetheless, with the Nets only having two nominal point guards on the roster –Simmons and Dennis Schroder –one of them may be coming off the bench instead. If Simmons is the one demoted, it’ll be the first time in his career that he started the season in a second unit role. With how prickly the playmaker can be, this might lead to chemistry issues unless Fernandez can get him to buy into the idea.
Still, a lot could be determined by how Simmons looks leading up to the 2024-25 season opener. If he looks like he miraculously turned the corner health-wise, not only by being durable but by being assertive, it may be best to start him. There are few players with his size, IQ, passing ability, and defensive impact. He’s the only one that plays for Brooklyn.
Furthermore, the Nets’ offense often ran better when Simmons was on the court last season. This is not only because of his facilitating, but also his ability to play off the ball as a cutter or in the dunker spot. In essence, his versality helps him fill multiple holes that Brooklyn has without him, many of which are intangible.
