There was the Big 3 with James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Then, it became Ben Simmons, Irving and Durant after Harden was traded for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, 2022 unprotected first-round pick and a 2027 protected first-round pick.
The Big 3 has now been reduced to rubble with only Simmons remaining after Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant orchestrated their departures through trades.
The Nets are now stuck with Simmons. He has been coming off the bench lately, yet he has been unproductive. He has two years remaining in his contract after this season. He will be paid $37.9 million next season and $40 million in 2024-2025. His contract and his performance make him untradeable.
They should have never acquired him in the first place. He struggled to shoot and was indecisive when he had the ball on offense for the 76ers. Simmons was a liability on the free-throw line and was injury-prone. He missed most of last season since he did not want to play for them again after Joel Embiid and 76ers coach Doc Rivers called him out for his play.
The Nets were better off just keeping Harden as unhappy as he was here. They gave him away just for the sake of trading him by accepting Simmons just to get something out of this trade. They panicked and let Harden get his way just like they did with Durant and Irving.
Simmons is averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game for the Nets. There have been times he had to miss games because his knee wasn’t up to par to play. At least, he can say that he was more productive than failed Net Yinka Dare, who was the worst player ever for the Nets.
Still, this shouldn’t be the bar for a former No. 1 overall pick. The Nets hoped he could be a great passer and an effective defender. He has been neither of those. Wednesday night against the Miami Heat, Simmons collected two points, four assists and four rebounds in 20 minutes. This comes after he finished with two points, three rebounds and two assists with a -4 against the Knicks on Monday night.
It sure doesn’t look like he will be starting anytime soon with this type of performance. He may have to get used to coming off the bench. He is fortunate the Nets are invested in him, so he won’t be getting DNP- Coach’s Decision anytime soon.
But the Nets have to wonder if this is the best Simmons can do. Nets head coach Jacques Vaughn expressed his frustration about his player not playing through an injury and not being aggressive enough. This is a code for “he is just not good enough to play in a man’s league”.
The Nets can put so many resources into Simmons, but if he can’t execute, it becomes pointless. His lack of scoring is a problem as the Nets need someone to fill the scoring void left by Durant and Irving. His 6.9 points per game are a career-low with his 14.3 from 2020-21 his lowest before this season.
The Nets thought he could be useful as a facilitator with Irving and Harden with the results being up and down. While he is averaging a career-low in assists, his 2.64 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best of his career and one of the highest on the team. His usage rate of 14.2 % is also a career low with having a usage rate of at least 20% in every season with the 76ers.
Simmons rarely talks to the media, which makes him come off as a player who doesn’t seem bothered or want to be bothered. The Nets expected Simmons to perform at an All-Star level, but has not met those expectations since joining them.
It seems like Vaughn is done figuring Simmons out based on him using his struggling player off the bench. If he had his way, Simmons would be collecting DNP-Coach’s Decision.
Simmons will get a shot to prove himself for the next 24 games. The All-Star Break may just be what Simmons needs to get himself back on track. The Nets will need Simmons to pickup his game as they look to maintain the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Simmons has become more of a riddle. He has been an albatross that the Nets can’t get rid of anytime soon.
You can read Leslie's Jersey Sporting News columns on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
- Strawberry and Gooden Should Enjoy this Moment as Mets to Retire Numbers - August 25, 2023
- Don’t expect Zach Wilson to ever start for Jets again - August 22, 2023
- Honeymoon will eventually end for Daboll and Schoen - August 21, 2023
