{"id":112698,"date":"2024-12-17T08:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T13:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=112698"},"modified":"2024-12-17T08:22:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T13:22:02","slug":"nets-embattled-star-designated-advantageous-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/17\/nets-embattled-star-designated-advantageous-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets Embattled Star Designated Advantageous Role\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the Brooklyn Nets have entered their selling phase by trading away\u00a0<\/span>Dennis Schr\u00f6der<\/span><\/a>, the expectation is that more players will exit in the coming weeks. Until then, some of the roles of current Brooklyn players, including the Nets star\u00a0<\/span>Ben Simmons<\/span><\/a>, may change. Given Simmons’s up-and-down journey this year, there is no telling what his new duties will do for his game. Still, his head coach has decided it to be the best route forward at this time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nets Embattled Star Designated Advantageous Role<\/h2>\n

Brooklyn Nets Star Ben Simmons Takes Over Sole Point Guard Duties<\/h3>\n

It’s all about playing the game with a quicker pace, according to Jordi Fernandez. The first-year head coach is in the middle of trying to navigate his first season. It has yet to draw out all smoothly for the former Sacramento Kings assistant, and it’s unlikely to let up, considering that the Nets are completely open for business in what is shaping up to be an eventual trade season. Still, in the here and now, Fernandez has a job to do and a team to lead. With Schr\u00f6der now moved on to the\u00a0<\/span>Golden State Warriors<\/span><\/a>, Fernandez thought it best to transfer the power or point guard responsibility to someone else: Simmons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Considering the former All-Star’s lingering back issues, it’s an interesting move. Still, Fernandez sees the upside in giving Simmons the ball in this situation.<\/p>\n

“Dennis was bottom ten slowest point guards in the NBA\u2013pace doesn’t mean you’re better or worse\u2013and Ben is 18th-fastest…We’re going to try to play faster,” Fernandez said, per New York Post<\/i>‘s Brian Lewis<\/a>. “The ball is going to fly. He’s going to push. He’s going to throw it ahead.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With\u00a0<\/span>Schr\u00f6der<\/span><\/a>\u00a0gone and Simmons now at point guard, his minutes will likely increase significantly. Up to this point, he’s averaged just 23 minutes per game with a restriction of 27 minutes. Whether Fernandez’s plan will consistently allow <\/span>for<\/span>Simmons to hit that mark of 27 minutes or higher remains to be seen. In Brooklyn’s Monday night loss to the\u00a0<\/span>Cleveland Cavaliers<\/span><\/a>, he logged 31 minutes. He only scored 10 points but did contribute eight assists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking Advantage of an Opportunity<\/h3>\n

With the Nets likely to unload several key players <\/span>over the coming weeks leading into<\/span> February, Simmons’s role on the team and immediate future is foggy at best.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Dorian Finney-Smith<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Cameron Johnson<\/span><\/a>\u00a0are two others whose time in Brooklyn appears to be up soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Simmons is an interesting case because he is on an expiring contract. His $40 million is a number that the Nets would undoubtedly like to get off of. Finding the right trade partner to take on that salary could be tough, given the massive number. Teams above the first apron under the new CBA would need to match that $40 million. Additionally, given his constant battles with injuries, Simmons’s value is far from desirable. Nevertheless, whether by in-season trade or a development in the offseason, Simmons time in Brooklyn is nearing its end.<\/p>\n

That said, if he finishes out the year with the Nets, his newly transferred point guard duties are an ideal opportunity for Simmons to showcase whatever he has left in his bag. Fernandez has handed him the keys to run the offense and lead on the floor. This is an opportunity to take advantage of. Playing in this role could also increase his trade value, which would help the Nets. If Simmons wants to extend his NBA career into next season, the time is now to show teams what he has left to offer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that the Brooklyn Nets have entered their selling phase by trading away\u00a0Dennis Schr\u00f6der, the expectation is that more players will exit in the coming weeks. Until then, some of the roles of current Brooklyn players, including the Nets star\u00a0Ben Simmons, may change. Given Simmons’s up-and-down journey this year, there is no telling what his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5081,"featured_media":112700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1608,62],"tags":[266,1899,252,2272,49161],"class_list":["post-112698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nets","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-ben-simmons","tag-cameron-johnson","tag-dennis-schroder","tag-dorian-finney-smith","tag-jordi-fernandez"],"modified_by":"Aaron J Zacharias","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5081"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112698"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112703,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112698\/revisions\/112703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}