At Brooklyn Nets Media Day, promise of Ben Simmons lives on
Photo by Michelle Farsi/Getty Images
Sometimes it goes unspoken, sometimes it is simply forgotten. But Ben Simmons is still a Brooklyn Net, and he’s still Ben Simmons. Dorian Finney-Smith and Day’Ron Sharpe were the final interviewees of Brooklyn Nets Media Day on Monday afternoon. A great choice by Brooklyn, as two of their funniest, most engaging players bantering with each other was a light-hearted end to the three-hour event.
Day'Ron Sharpe knows who The Temptations are, but not David Ruffin: "I know The Five Heartbeats too though."Dorian Finney-Smith: "That's not a real group bro."— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) September 30, 2024
Still, there was still business to attend to. So later on, Dorian Finney-Smith was asked a pretty standard question about the half-elephant in the room. Players can all talk about the Brooklyn Nets upcoming rebuild, just not too directly.
So Finney-Smith, a competent veteran unlikely to see the whole season through anyway, said “I mean, I don’t look at it as a rebuild. I’m trying to win.”
Then he paused and added: “Especially if, you know, Ben is Ben, I feel like we got a good chance to win some games.”
Yes, we are doing this again, though, the Ben Simmons Experience has twice fooled Nets fans. You could argue three times. Thus, bitterness. Rather than debate the best practices for recovering from nerve impingements and questioning Simmons’ commitment to rehab, we can accept the obvious. Rooting for the 2023-24 Nets — and thereby relying on Simmons — mostly sucked. The now-28-year-old bookended his absences by continuing his refusal to shoot, or looking eons away from the athlete he was in Philadelphia...
oh no, Ben pic.twitter.com/L2jl9ANo0n— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 25, 2024
That turned the few fun moments into knife-twisters. Remember when he dove on the floor for a loose ball in a preseason game? Or when he returned from 38 consecutive absences to post 10/11/8 in Brooklyn’s highest scoring game of the season, a fast-paced 147-114 win over the Utah Jazz?
If you don’t, you may remember that he missed the very next game with a knee injury.
When Dorian Finney-Smith says, “if Ben is Ben,” he needs to be more specific than that. The current Ben is a phantasm. On one hand, there is always the hope of re-discovering an All-Star point-forward inside his oft-operated-on body. Just ask Chris Brickley.
But Ben is also the player Jalen Wilson struggled to remember when asked to name the two Brooklyn Nets who won Naismith Prep Player of the Year at Montverde Academy.
fun trivia, as Jalen Wilson is asked to name the two Nets who won National HS Player of the Year at Monteverde pic.twitter.com/WAhmYbbEtX— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) September 30, 2024
He is the name we forget, and yet, we still talk about Ben Simmons — he of the 57 games played in the last three years — because he is Ben Simmons. So we’re doing this again.
“Ben being healthy, Ben is a very good player,” said Jordi Fernández last week. “And Ben being healthy, he can rebound and push and do all those things that can help us get really good shots.”
Sean Marks re-iterated hat belief before adding that “Ben will be a full-go in camp, which for us, that’s exciting to see. And, you know, for him, I think he is champing at the bit to be able to get out there and contribute. So this is a big year for him, just like it is for the rest of us.”
Indeed it is, considering Simmons is not under contract for next season. One of the strangest careers in recent NBA history is reaching the end of its second contract, and with no third secured, defining a “Ben Simmons Market” is a Herculean task.
But when Jordi Fernández and Sean Marks speak, or even on Monday afternoon when all of his teammates take the mic, it seems genuine. Dorian Finney-Smith brings him up unprompted, as does Dennis Schröder: “Ben Simmons is another guy. He’s been an All-Star passing the ball and being a good floor general and is not selfish.”
Schröder was asked about a looming battle for the starting point guard spot, and politely veers the opposite direction: “Even when I got traded here, I wanted — because I thought he was healthy — to play with him more minutes on the court. And in mini-camp, we had a whole week where we played together, and it looked great. So I’m really excited about him being healthy, And all the all the noise and social media, what everybody was saying about him, I’m really looking forward for him to shut everybody up.”
Of course, Simmons will never be able to shut everybody up, which has more to do with everybody and less to do with him. But hey, wouldn’t that be something? Do you have to rely on him to hope for that?
Simmons doesn’t quite cultivate hope himself, but he cultivates attention, occasionally leading to hope. In addition to the #grinding posts from his Miami gym/bunker, the Ferrari partnership, and the lavish outfits, there is the temperament of a star too. This Brooklyn roster is filled with Southern charm from the personable Dorian Finney-Smith and Day’Ron Sharpe to the more reserved Nic Claxton. Ziaire Williams and Cam Johnson could have an insightful conversation with the floor.
But none of them are Simmons. His Monday afternoon was chock-full of self-assured quotes that are going to annoy people incapable of laughing a little.
Ben Simmons when asked what being 14th in NBA history in triple-doubles says about his skillset:"That I'm not that bad at basketball." pic.twitter.com/qe8ew8j2qn— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) September 30, 2024
“I think people forget me as a player when I’m healthy. You know, I can play basketball, I’m pretty good right?” not so much asking the room as coaxing a nod and a smile out of everybody.
It’s funny for no other reason than repetition, this the third year and the fourth different season of the Simmons cycle, and that’s just in Brooklyn.
Simmons mixes these one-liners in with anecdotes about his recovery process, about his singular journey: “I had days [last year] where I have a tough day of playing, the next day I’d be locked up in my back. And I haven’t had one setback all rehab or since I’ve been playing and being cleared [this year]. So I’ve had no setbacks. Everything’s going well.”
And so, Ben Simmons is the story once again at Nets Media Day. He is the team’s only All-Star. He’s feeling better! No setbacks! He was even nice enough to provide ammo for an onslaught of tweets that will come if he gets injured this season.
Will he play like an All-Star this year? No. Will he look at the rim when he has the ball? That’s more likely, but barely. Most importantly, can he be enough of a force to lift the Nets out of a tank and ruin their shot at capturing the Flagg?
If you believe so, then you are fully engaged with the Ben Simmons Experience. Your resiliency is admirable. No? Well, then you are free to sit back and enjoy the ride, again. Maybe he will hit Noah Clowney for some corner threes and help give Jordi Fernández a feel-good, fast-paced offense in his first year as an NBA head coach.
Even that seems improbable, but hey, it's Ben Simmons.
Ben Simmons’ Nets importance not lost on his teammates - Brian Lewis - New York Post
Nets out to prove ‘disrespectful’ betting line wrong - Brian Lewis - New York Post
A fully healthy Ben Simmons is ready to lead the rebuilding Nets - Denis P. Gorman - AP
Ben Simmons is healthy and primed to help Nets on the court ($) - Evan Barnes - Newsday
Why Nic Claxton is at the center of the Nets’ latest rebuild: ‘My growth has been astronomical’ ($) - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
Nets’ Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith reveal conversations with Sean Marks amid trade rumors - Erik Slater - Clutch Points
Nets’ Ben Simmons asks pointed question to people who ‘forgot’ about him - Erik Slater - Clutch Points
Chinese basketball player Yongxi ‘Jacky’ Cui aiming to enter rare NBA territory with Brooklyn Nets - Jake Nisse - Daily Mail
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