Ben Simmons‘ consistency this season hasn’t been that of an All-Star player with the 26-year-old missing games and being on minute restrictions while he has suited up.
Some within the Nets organization are questioning Simmons’ love for the game and there’s some frustration brewing in Brooklyn.
Simmons came to the Nets via the James Harden deal last season after sitting out the first half of the season while under contract with the Sixers. He ended up not playing in a single game for Brooklyn after the trade and this season, he’s missed five of 15 games for the Nets, averaging a career-low 26.6 minutes in the contests he’s suiting up in.
“It takes time to build up,” Simmons told reporters. “Especially with a nerve injury, it takes 18 months for your nerve to fully heal, and people don’t know that, but over time I get better and better. Just keep pushing.”
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- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been linked to the Raptors, though at this time, it’s mostly speculation on the potential of SGA wanting out at some point. It doesn’t sound like he’ll be leaving the franchise anytime soon, however, with the point guard recently telling the media that he’s excited about the future of the Thunder.
- Immanuel Quickley is garnering interest from teams around the league, though the Knicks aren’t looking to move him, according to a recent report by Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Rival clubs see New York’s surplus of point guards and logically believe the franchise will move at least one of their guards by the end of the season. Quickley will be eligible for an extension this offseason, so that is something that could factor into any new developments.
- Things are going well for Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland and the combo guard recently spoke about why he feels like he’s found success with his new team. “I look at who I’ve been in my career — a guy who could score the ball. (But) I’m asserting myself on a different level defensively. Having another dominant guard (in Darius Garland) who can get you 30 (points on any given night) and also having ‘Vert (Caris LeVert), who can do the same, it relieves that pressure a little bit and allows you to be more engaged defensively, to be there and have the energy. And then on top of that, my coaches (head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff) and my teammates allow me to just go, to be myself — whatever that means,” Mitchell told Sam Amick of The Athletic.
