The Brooklyn Nets have a plan for Ben Simmons this offseason.
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez says Brooklyn wants “to play fast (and) Ben is one of the best playmakers to do that” (h/t Nets Kingdom). Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson, could both be full-time starters next season, talked up Simmons. Dennis Schroder says that during the Nets’ minicamp, they “had a whole week where we played together (and) looked great” (per the New York Post’s Brian Lewis). “So I’m really excited about him being healthy.”
Dennis Schroder on Ben Simmons: “Minicamp, we had a whole week where we played together & looked great. So Im really excited about him being healthy. All the noise on social media, what everybody was saying about him, Im really looking forward for him to shut everybody up.” #Nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) September 30, 2024
When asked about the comments from Thomas and Johnson, Simmons confidently replies: “I think people forget, me as a player when I’m healthy. I can play basketball. I’m pretty good, right? (h/t Dime Alerts)”
“I think people forget, me as a player when I’m healthy, I can play basketball. I’m pretty good, right?”
Ben Simmons at Nets Media Day on his health heading into this season
pic.twitter.com/WwDrD9s3zR— Dime Alerts (@DimeAlerts) September 30, 2024
“For me it’s just being consistent with that and staying on top of my body.”
Simmons has been fully cleared for training camp after undergoing a season-ending back surgery in March.
Nets Playmaker Ben Simmons Talks Injury Concerns, Bounce Back Year
As Media Day wore on, it became clear that Simmons’s health is his primary concern. However, he believes that he’s healthy, comparing the way he’s responded to playing in pickup games this offseason.
“I feel like when my body is healthy, that’s the confidence I always have, and that’s where I’m at right now,” he tells reporters when asked about basketball trainer Chris Brickley’s comments about him.
Ben Simmons didn’t see trainer @cbrickley603 comments about him looking like an All-Star, but claims he’s back to that. “Yeah. I feel like when my body is healthy, that’s the confidence I always have, and that’s where I’m at right now. I feel great and ready to go.” #nets pic.twitter.com/ZnV2S27XA2
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) September 30, 2024
“I feel great and ready to go… I’d have days where I’d have a tough day of playing. The next day I’d be locked up in my back. I haven’t had one of those setbacks since I’ve been back playing (over the summer).”
Even when he was asked about his impending free agency, Simmons brought up his durability.
“For me it’s important just to be healthy,” Simmons reiterates.
Ben Simmons on how important this year is heading into free agency: “For me it’s important just to be healthy. I want to play basketball I love & get the most I can out of my body. That’s the focus. The money’s nice and all that, but I want to play and play healthy.” #Nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) September 30, 2024
“I want to play (the) basketball I love (and) get the most I can out of my body. That’s the focus. The money’s nice and all that, but I want to play and play healthy.”
Will Ben Simmons Be Back In Brooklyn?
Simmons’s contract —a five-year, $177.2 million deal —will expire in the 2025 offseason. Should he play well enough, there’s actually a chance that the Nets could re-sign him. Despite the frustrations his health has caused, it’s not hard to recognize his strengths as a basketball player contribute to winning. However, even if he does get offered another contract —from Brooklyn or elsewhere —he probably won’t be getting the max.
His free market value is yet to be determined. He’s a three-time All-Star and he’s only 28 years old. Nonetheless, a player with his injury history is difficult to rely on, which will have a significant impact on the type of money he can earn in future contracts.
That’s without getting into how he fits within modern NBA offenses.
