The Nets are expected to test lineups with Ben Simmons at center next season, as NetsDaily outlines. Head coach Steve Nash discussed Simmons’ unique ability to play and defend multiple positions when the 2021/22 campaign ended.
“I think he plays both (point guard and center),” Nash said. “He’s just such a well-rounded, versatile athlete and skilled player that I think it would be limiting to say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to handle the ball all the time. You have to facilitate the offense all the time.’ That’s what’s special about him is the varied skills he brings to the table.
“So, yes, he’ll facilitate and be the point guard. He’ll also sometimes be the center. Other times he’ll be the guy that’s just playing position-less basketball, trying to create offense in the halfcourt. So for me, it’s playing to his strengths, which are varied, and all those things are a part of it.”
Brooklyn can play Simmons at forward, but if they start Nicolas Claxton at center, the fit may become awkward with two non-shooters. However, the team does have several top shooters in the league, including Kyrie Irving, Patty Mills, Seth Curry, Joe Harris and Kevin Durant, to partially offset that issue.
Here are some other notes out of Brooklyn:
- Since there appears to be no inclination to trade Simmons, Brian Lewis of the New York Post (member-only link) examines the challenges and potential upside in using him. Simmons is a versatile defender and strong play-maker who struggles with shooting. At 6’11” and 240 pounds, he’s also a strong finisher, but his primary position is still unclear with this Nets team.
- A panel of ESPN analysts (video link) discuss senior writer Kevin Pelton’s decision to grade the Nets’ offseason as a D-plus. Pelton didn’t love that the team traded a first-round pick for Royce O’Neale and cited the lingering uncertainty surrounding Irving and Durant’s futures.
- Speaking of Irving and Durant, we recently examined the latest on the duo. As SNY.tv’s Ian Begley relayed, sources around the situation were pessimistic about a Durant trade being finalized anytime soon. Irving, on the other hand, is reportedly focused on staying with Brooklyn entering the season.
Both durant and irving are going to be on the team at least until the deadline. Whether baby durant likes it or not he signed a contract and he’s gonna be there until the nets actually feel like trading him
2 head cases & a cry baby. Will make for an interesting soap opera like environment.
exactly lol. they’re definitely going to be the team we hear the most about when it comes to drama off the court.
NY Sportswriters have to be praying that the Nets keep all three players so they have juicy subject matter to cover all season.
@jaden can you actually break down that logic for me? I’ve never understood it. Why is it that you feel Kevin Durant should honor his contract unconditionally while even if he wanted to stay, the Nets could send him to the highest bidder whenever they feel like it? In your perfect world do trades just not happen because of some morale high ground standoff about commitment, regardless of how corrosive it is to the player or team as a whole? Im genuinely curious on your thoughts
This is the 1st time in his career that Durant has asked for a trade, every other time he’s changed teams it’s been at the end of his contract. The Nets haven’t exactly held up to their end of the deal either. They signed Durant and Irving as a package deal and now they balked at resigning Irving. I know why they balked and I don’t agree with Kyrie’s reasons but the fact is when push came to shove they backed off their commitment to Kyrie. I mean if they wanted to resign Kyrie what’s a couple million dollars to a billionaire like Joseph Tsai? Either you want him or you don’t.
They offered Kyrie a Contract but it was not a full Max. He is not worthy of such a contract. I am sure he will be on his best behavior this year so some fool team will sign him.
“They offered Kyrie a Contract but it was not a full Max.” That would mean their commitment to Kyrie is wavering.
@ Tacocat:
You’ve posted this before, but it’s wrong. The Nets signed Durant and Irving (and DeAndre Jordan) in the same offseason, but there’s nothing in their contracts about being a package deal. The Nets didn’t back off their commitment to Kyrie, he had proved that he simply isn’t worth a 5 year $245 mil contract.
And they Nets simply proved that they’re not committed to Kyrie…it works both ways.
first of all chill this doesn’t have to be a confrontation lol secondly i’m not mentioning my beliefs on the subject anyway. the fact is that the nets front office don’t have to trade him and they’re not going to unless they win the trade which they won’t.
@ washington
If KD wanted immunity from trades by the Nets, he should have negotiated a no-trade clause in the 4 year extension he signed.
Are you unaware that asking to be traded in the offseason before the 4 year contract he signed iss unprecedented in league history?
@jaden and @ok2 neither of you have backed up the logic in question. Take KD out of it. Use the same scenario with any player on any team. You’re saying that the billionaires in the box seats should operate on a different playing field than the players. You know, the players that make this whole thing go? If you don’t think the players are what makes the NBA great then you clearly have never tried to sit through a WNBA game. Im not being confrontational, like I said I’m genuinely curious on how you justify players being forced to commit to their team because of a contract yet teams are free and even encouraged to make any and every move to improve themselves. Enlighten me
@washington Obviously the players are what make the nba great. However it’s the same as any job ever. Take basketball out of it. You sign a contract and you should honor it. There are some exceptions and I do get requesting a trade if in a bad environment. (ex: Chris Paul with the rockets) However Kyrie is committing to make it work, and they have a deep team. If Durant decides to stop being a crybaby he has a CHANCE at a championship. The players sign the contracts to play. They’re not hired to make moves. It’s a completely different job. And the front office is equally as important to contributing to a franchise, just in a different way than the players.
It’s not the same as any job other, you don’t normally sign contracts and when I have done freelance work under contract in the past the owners couldn’t just trade me to another company.
Normal jobs don’t pay you millions of dollars a year
Weird. It’s not like the contracts change as a result of the trade, the new team pays according to the contract. Again, if staying where you sign is a key factor, negotiate a no trade clause.
I know 2K is fun but a no trade clause is extremely rare. Beal just got one and this convo isn’t worth looking it up but I’m pretty sure it was only like the 7th full no trade clause ever. You dont find it interesting that the equivalent of a no trade clause for a team isn’t necessary because of the contract itself? Are you seeing what I’m saying yet?
All due respect, but I’m not sure you have a solid understanding of how contracts work in any financial market place, including the NBA.
It’s literally the CBA that the Players Union agrees to that stipulates that players voluntarily sign contracts that require them to play basketball for a specific team. Key word: voluntarily. These stipulations are agreed to by both the Players Union as a whole as well as the individual player at the time signing.
Those contracts are then fungible between teams (as it’s technically the contract not the player who gets traded).
This is essentially no different than if you, say, bought an Oil Futures Contract. It can be traded any number of times but the seller of the contract (the person who gets paid, i.e. in the NBA case, the player) is ultimately legally responsible for supplying the 1,000 barrels of oil at time of expiration. It’s a contract between two voluntary parties that has legal stipulations both sides agree to in writing.
Putting this in terms of “big bad rich billionaire owner” and (only slightly less rich) “poor player” is nonsensical, as these are stipulations everyone agrees to ahead of time.
Having said that Durant can absolutely request that the terms be changed (i.e. trade him to Phoenix), but there’s nothing legally that requires Tsai to acquiesce.
There is no debate on legality. This has been a conversation (going nowhere I might add) about the morality of asking to be traded from a team you signed a contract with. I’ve been asking the same question and nobody seems to have an answer. Why is that people feel players have a moral duty to stay committed to an organization, regardless of the performance of that organization, while also maintaining that the organizations themselves have no need to hold their commitment to the player? Why is it that this community calls KD a coward for wanting to move on but insists that the Lakers have to trade away Russ to be respected? Answer that and only that.
The Warriors start Kevon Looney and Draymond Green, both non-shooters, and they seem to do fine.
They also happen to start the two best shooters of all time
Irving to the Warriors at the trade deadline is good possibility.
bro what plane of existence are you on?
1. what would that trade even look like?
2. why would the warriors do that? they already have 3 starting worthy guards and don’t want to mess up their culture with the drama of uncle drew
3. why would the nets trade kyrie if he already said he wanted to stay with the nets and make it work?
Irving to Golden State for a package of has beens and second round picks. Typical of Sean Marks to be fleeced.
@ Juice:
Only if “good” means “zero chance”.
Wait a second. I wonder if Jaden here is actually Bryan Colangelo trolling the internet trying to to find his next job…
Simmons at center, if it works, solves a litany of issues
Having said that protecting the rim and guarding the perimeter are two different skill sets and we’ve only seen Simmons excel at the latter to date
But if Simmons can transform himself into a rim protector/ facilitator then surrounding him with KD Kyrie Harris and Curry is a scary lineup
Simmons is a great defender who can switch 1-5, but a defensive 5 full time does not play to his strengths. He is not a great rim protector and bigger 5’s are able to bring more physicality than Ben plays with. Not a knock as I am still a Big Ben appreciator. But having watched him frequently playing a lot at the 5 would not likely = success for him or the nets
I have told you guys for months. Ben Simmons will become “Draymond Green” for Brooklyn. Ben will defend multiple positions. Ben will be capable of having the offense run through him in a variety of ways. Ben will rebound at a high level. Ben will still be a poor jump shooter, but all of the attributes he brings to the center position makes Brooklyn nearly unstoppable. Brooklyn does NOT need Ben to score. KD and Kyrie do that. Joe Harris and Seth Curry are both Elite Shooters. Nic Claxton protecting the rim. More defense, rebounding and 3 point shooting added with Royce O’Neal. This is getting scary! Get Your Money On Brooklyn To Win The Title While You Still Can!!!
You (and others) have said Simmons will be Draymond for months, true, yet myself (and others) have said: In theory it sounds great but there’s no evidence to suggest it will be that easy
For one thing even Draymond spends the majority of his time at the 4; even he can only bang down low for so long, and I’d argue he MIGHT be a tad tougher than Ben
The other thing is protecting the rim is just fundamentally different than locking up guys on the perimeter. While it’s true Simmons has the height to be a center, he also has the two arms required to shoot 3s.
Which brings me to my final point—all of this requires buy-in from Simmons himself, which is probably why I’m most dubious of it happening. One of his main beefs in Philly was the offense didn’t run thru him enough — doesn’t sound like a guy who’s itching to become a 3rd option on offense
Good points BHS.
Also, with Simmons’ spine made of glass, there is NO WAY you want him banging down low with the big guys.
@ Very Barry
Lol, So if Claxton is protecting the rim, that means he’s playing center, not Ben. 2 guys that can’t make free throws on the court together in the playoffs = disaster.
There Is No Chance That The Nets Will Win The Championship!!!
You can absolutely play Claxton, Ben Simmons, Kevin Durant, Seth Curry and Kyrie Irving together!!! In fact, I think it looks pretty nice. You don’t need Claxton or Ben to score or even shoot outside of 5 feet from the rim.
Are you serious right now?????
You “can” play those guys together, but win with them if that’s a starting/closing lineup?
LOL!
The Nets would win 50-55 games with the team they have right now IF everyone buys in and plays.
I get that is a big if.
Brooklyn gets to 55 wins. Even with Steve Kerr as head coach.
Starters
Kyrie Irving
Seth Curry
Kevin Durant
Royce O’Neal
Ben Simmons
Bench
Joe Harris
T.J. Warren
Nic Claxton
Cam
Patty Mills
Giannis is the only thing that can stop the Brooklyn Title Train in 2023!
Brooklyn is the only thing that can stop the Brooklyn Title Train.
Just like last year.
@NBA is OK Steve Nash …. My Bad.
Why would I not start Kyrie, Seth Curry and Royce O’Neal??? Size??? Royce O’Neal is a plus rebounder and defender at his position. Ben Simmons and Kevin Durant are both 6’11 and excellent rebounders and defenders.
You are worried about backcourt size when rule changes have legislated most of the big men and post action out of the league????
Are You Serious Right Now?????
@ Very Barry:
Size is a key element in basketball due to matchups. 3 of 5 players in the lineup you’re pushing are undersized compared to league averages.
All I can say about your proposed starting lineup is wait and see (and learn).
@OrienGreene I agree. Brooklyn is their own biggest obstacle to winning a title this year.
@ Very:
FYI, Steve Kerr coaches the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
So your plan is to start two 6’2″ guards and a 6’4″ SF?
Not
Going
To
Happen
Ben weighs 240. He can’t (and won’t want to) play center. Anyone who has followed his career knows Ben is resistant to changing his game. He played center about 10% of the time in Philly, according to advanced league data, mostly when Embiid was out.
A bigger question is how much conditioning has he lost since he last played in June 2021? Is he going to be a starter from day 1 this season?
ALL of you are forgetting that Brooklyn has KD and Kyrie. Ben and Everybody else on the roster are purely role players. Ben has a big name, but on this Brooklyn team he is nothing more than a role player, and has a chance to play a high-level role to help this team be very, very successful! Philly needed Ben to be a bona fide #2 star behind Embiid. Brooklyn is only looking for him to be a role player!
I’ve been saying the entire time Simmons should start for them at the 5
Nash’s statement is unsurprising and, in the modern NBA, really goes without saying. NBA people, vs NBA fans, haven’t cared about traditional position designations for ages. What matters is aligning skill sets and assignments, on both ends.
I interpret Nash as saying that Simmons isn’t going to be pigeonholed as a traditional PG, not that he’s now being considered a C or a PF. PHI’s coaches were pretty vanilla (lazy) in their use of Simmons (although his own preferences apparently played some part there as well); but that’s not really typical any longer. A better baseline would be how Kidd used Doncic. It wasn’t about the PG designation, it was who he shared the court with.
Ben was never a PG to me. He’s a 3-4 hybrid. Can play either one. I actually think he and KD could of changed the way we think of the 4 and 3. And how we use it. Oh Well !!!!
Anyone that thinks simmons is ever going to be on a court again is a dolt!
This situation in the Nets is emblematic of the organizational disarray in the Commissioner’s office…he should have stepped up in the Simmons debacle and now he must step up in the Durant and now Irving situation…this is a LEAGUE ISSUE NOW!