The Brooklyn Nets have what they believe is an ace in the hole for their first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference postseason.
But, what if it turned out that the return of the Nets’ third max contract star, Ben Simmons, was actually an advantage for the Cs instead?
Ben Simmons’ Brooklyn Nets return would ultimately benefit the Boston Celtics.
Well, perhaps it would be. When it comes to how Simmons fits on the Nets roster, we know nothing. The 2016 NBA Draft’s No. 1 pick has sat out the entirety of the 2021-22 season with both back and mental health issues.
Simmons is an unknown entity at this point in his career following his injuries/issues, especially on the Nets. When he was on the Philadelphia 76ers before these issues persisted, we know that he had All-Stat talent–as evidenced by his career 16 points, eight rebounds, and 7.7 assists during his career in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’–but had issues co-existing behind the scenes with fellow All-Star Joel Embiid.
Good luck sharing the ball with Kyrie Irving. Ditto for appeasing Kevin Durant. Simmons has remarkable similarities to Durant’s long-time teammate Russell Westbrook as a non-shooting rim-running hyper-athlete who likes to take the ball coast to coast from a rebound. We saw how well the Durant-Westbrook duo worked out.
Now, as for a return for Simmons, Nets head coach Steve Nash didn’t commit to any timetable, but strongly suggested that the six-foot-11 point forward is ramping up for a return:
"“I have no idea [about Game 3]. I don’t know where these reports come from. We have no update on the timetable so I don’t think that came from us. Yeah, I would say heavier progress in the last week than the first three weeks or so after that.”"
If Simmons did return, though, Brooklyn would be behind the 8-ball integrating a usage-heavy former All-Star making max money against the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. Boston Celtics fans should hope that Simmons returns for this series.
It’d ultimately benefit the Cs, not the Nets, if he did.