A pair of outside orthopedic specialists who spoke to Brian Lewis of The New York Post expressed skepticism that Ben Simmons will play for the Nets this season due to his ongoing back issues. However, head coach Steve Nash remains confident that Simmons will return, telling reporters on Tuesday that he has “extremely high hopes” about seeing the three-time All-Star before the end of the regular season.
“He’s just doing his rehab, strengthening,” Nash said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “We’re still doing that side of things rather than court work right now.
“… The biggest thing we’ve tried to do is to have him be involved in everything. The traveling is the one caveat where sometimes you’re weighing the cost-benefit of him on airplanes and buses and different beds. When he’s with us we want him in every meeting, in every walkthrough, in every film session, whatever it may be so he’s around the group. We’d love for him to travel, be with the team all the time, but we have to weigh that scenario as well.”
The Nets have just 14 games left on their regular season schedule, and presumably would be reluctant to bring back Simmons in the middle for a play-in game of in the middle of the playoff series if he hasn’t gotten at least a few regular season reps under his belt.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- Nets star Kevin Durant missed too much time this season to be a legitimate MVP candidate, but John Hollinger of The Athletic believes Durant could be the league’s current “Most Dangerous Player” — in other words, the player opponents fear most in a short-term situation like a fourth quarter or playoff series.
- The University of Louisville appears to be zeroing in on Knicks assistant Kenny Payne as its top head coaching candidate, sources tell Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated. Forde cautions that nothing is definite yet, but says if talks between the two sides go well, Louisville could announce a deal with Payne before the end of the week.
- With the Knicks leaning more on rookie center Jericho Sims as of late, Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post suggests that the possibility of losing big man Mitchell Robinson in free agency this offseason might be more palatable than it initially appeared. After appearing in just 18 of New York’s first 59 games and averaging 6.5 minutes per contest, Sims has played in the team’s last nine contests, logging 13.9 MPG. He had arguably his best game in Sunday’s loss to Brooklyn, scoring six points on 3-of-3 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds in a season-high 23 minutes.
It’s not impossible for KD to be MVP since Karl Malone did it with 49 games in 1998-99. KD would have 55 games if he plays in the rest of the games this season. I’d say the Nets would need to get to 45 wins in the regular season for him to have a shot. The splits between games with him and without him would clearly show why he’d be worthy if they got there.
Ummm… One big difference would be that the season was only 50 games that year.
The Mailman played in 49 out of 50 games due to the lockout… not exactly the same than playing 55 out of 82, right?
Malone won it in a shortened season, that’s a bad example when there are players who are doing things just as well if not better than KD.
Thank you for the affirmation Codeeg
Mitch is expendable. Sims at worst is a solid backup. If we can trade Mitch and Noel. And draft Duren. We will be fine. Duren has more all-around gm than Mitch. Sims was a nice find by our scouts.
Lol have you seen Duren paly this year?? He couldn’t guard anyone at the college level. He’s cheeks!
Duren is likely to end up with Portland with one of their two lottery picks.
Yes I have a few. Haven’t really watched his D. But I will now. He guards the middle well. He’s more athletic and more talented than Sims. Only 18, Upside
He isn’t and you don’t know what you’re talking about if you think it’s so easy to get a really good center or that we’re so good we can win with any old center we grab.
Louisville must be looking to lure Payne for his legacy of losing.
If Mitch is at 15 million or cheaper its better to just resign him and then trade in season. Because Sac is down on Holmes, maybe offer Mitch for Holmes and a 2nd. Holmes seems like a Thibs type guy and Mitch solves Sacs shot blocking problems.
I don’t see Knicks letting him walk. They could do a sign n trade. But someone could offer 15 mill or more. He’s not worth that yet. Considering they gave Noel 8 mill a yr. He’s gotta get at least 10-12 mill. I like Grant on Det. Sure wish we could work something with Pistons. Supposedly they are hot for Mitch.
I see Mitch as a good fit here, basketball-wise anyway. I think we try to extend him; but if the market for him gets too rich for us, then I could see walking away. A S&T spot might later materialize, but the type that would make sense here is unlikely to net us much.