{"id":98617,"date":"2024-09-30T17:58:36","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T21:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=98617"},"modified":"2024-09-30T17:58:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T21:58:47","slug":"nets-playmaker-ben-simmons-injury-concerns-bounce-back-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/30\/nets-playmaker-ben-simmons-injury-concerns-bounce-back-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets Playmaker Talks Injury Concerns, Bounce Back Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Brooklyn Nets have a plan for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/simmobe01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Simmons<\/a> this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez says Brooklyn wants \u201cto play fast (and) Ben is one of the best playmakers to do that\u201d (h\/t Nets Kingdom). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thomaca02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Thomas<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsca02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cameron Johnson<\/a>, could both be full-time starters next season, talked up Simmons. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schrode01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dennis Schroder says<\/a> that during the Nets\u2019 minicamp, they \u201chad a whole week where we played together (and) looked great\u201d (per the New York Post\u2019s Brian Lewis). \u201cSo I\u2019m really excited about him being healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Dennis Schroder on Ben Simmons: &#8220;Minicamp, we had a whole week where we played together &amp; 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.&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Nets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Nets<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYPost_Lewis\/status\/1840790815242674285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>When asked about the comments from Thomas and Johnson, Simmons confidently replies: \u201cI think people forget, me as a player when I&#8217;m healthy. I can play basketball. I&#8217;m pretty good, right? (h\/t Dime Alerts)\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;I think people forget, me as a player when I&#8217;m healthy, I can play basketball. I&#8217;m pretty good, right?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ben Simmons at Nets Media Day on his health heading into this season<br \/>\n<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WwDrD9s3zR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/WwDrD9s3zR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dime Alerts (@DimeAlerts) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DimeAlerts\/status\/1840780507342106698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me it\u2019s just being consistent with that and staying on top of my body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Simmons has been fully cleared for training camp after undergoing a season-ending back surgery in March.<\/p>\n<h2>Nets Playmaker Ben Simmons Talks Injury Concerns, Bounce Back Year<\/h2>\n<p>As Media Day wore on, it became clear that Simmons\u2019s health is his primary concern. However, he believes that he\u2019s healthy, comparing the way he\u2019s responded to playing in pickup games this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like when my body is healthy, that\u2019s the confidence I always have, and that\u2019s where I\u2019m at right now,\u201d he tells reporters when asked about basketball trainer Chris Brickley\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/19\/ben-simmons-workout-impresses-nba-workout-master\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">comments about him<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ben Simmons didn\u2019t see trainer <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cbrickley603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@cbrickley603<\/a> comments about him looking like an All-Star, but claims he\u2019s back to that. \u201cYeah. I feel like when my body is healthy, that&#8217;s the confidence I always have, and that&#8217;s where I&#8217;m at right now. I feel great and ready to go.\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/nets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#nets<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZnV2S27XA2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ZnV2S27XA2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYPost_Lewis\/status\/1840786966758989958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel great and ready to go\u2026 I\u2019d have days where I\u2019d have a tough day of playing. The next day I\u2019d be locked up in my back. I haven\u2019t had one of those setbacks since I\u2019ve been back playing (over the summer).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even when he was asked about his impending free agency, Simmons brought up his durability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me it&#8217;s important just to be healthy,\u201d Simmons reiterates.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ben Simmons on how important this year is heading into free agency: &#8220;For me it&#8217;s important just to be healthy. I want to play basketball I love &amp; get the most I can out of my body. That&#8217;s the focus. The money&#8217;s nice and all that, but I want to play and play healthy.&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Nets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Nets<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYPost_Lewis\/status\/1840789167157997903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to play (the) basketball I love (and) get the most I can out of my body. That&#8217;s the focus. The money&#8217;s nice and all that, but I want to play and play healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Will Ben Simmons Be Back In Brooklyn?<\/h3>\n<p>Simmons\u2019s contract \u2014a five-year, $177.2 million deal \u2014will expire in the 2025 offseason. Should he play well enough, there\u2019s actually a chance that the Nets <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/16\/nba-rumors-nets-hope-move-ben-simmons-trade-deadline\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">could re-sign him<\/a>. Despite the frustrations his health has caused, it\u2019s not hard to recognize his strengths as a basketball player contribute to winning. However, even if he does get offered another contract \u2014from Brooklyn or elsewhere \u2014he probably won\u2019t be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/27\/ben-simmons-wealth-from-nba-further-revealed-in-online-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">getting the max<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>His free market value is yet to be determined. He\u2019s a three-time All-Star and he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s without getting into how he fits within modern NBA offenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Brooklyn Nets have a plan for Ben Simmons this offseason. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez says Brooklyn wants \u201cto play fast (and) Ben is one of the best playmakers to do that\u201d (h\/t Nets Kingdom). Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson, could both be full-time starters next season, talked up Simmons. Dennis Schroder says that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":98643,"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":[6,1608,62,3],"tags":[266,252,49161,49680,49503],"class_list":["post-98617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nets","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-ben-simmons","tag-dennis-schroder","tag-jordi-fernandez","tag-nba-media-day","tag-nba-training-camp"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98617","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\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}