Free agent big man LaMarcus Aldridge appears more likely to retire than to sign another contract, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix and Howard Beck said in the latest episode of The Crossover NBA Show (hat tip to NetsDaily).
Aldridge was productive in 47 games with the Nets last season, averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 22.3 MPG. Aldridge went in retirement the previous season due to a heart condition but was cleared to play again by the league last fall.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, have named J.R. Holden as GM and Ronnie Burrell as head coach, according to a team press release. Holden spent the past three seasons as director of pro personnel for the Brooklyn Nets. Burrell rejoins the Nets organization after spending the 2019/20 season as an assistant coach with Long Island. Burrell was as an assistant coach with the College Park Skyhawks, the Atlanta Hawks’ affiliate, last season.
- Ben Simmons could turn into the Nets’ version of Draymond Green, Ajayi Browne of NetsDaily.com notes. Putting Simmons at the center position could provide the most spacing possible for the Nets offensively due to his play-making skills. He’s also a defensive ace, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year votes during the 2020/21 season.
- After losing the conference semifinals to the Heat last season, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey felt P.J. Tucker would be a great fit if he could sign the veteran forward in free agency, Morey said in a podcast with Philadelphia TV sportscaster John Clark (hat tip to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson). “Just finished playing a series [against] P.J. Tucker. P.J. was able to really impact that series in a lot of ways with his toughness, with his high-level defense, with his energy on the floor, with his offensive rebounding,” Morey said. “And (Joel Embiid) correctly said, ‘Hey, we could use a guy like that.’”
#MoscowLegend JR Holden gettin promoted to GM of the Nets G-League team today is sorta perfect. This is him scoring 1 of the biggest buckets in EuroBasket history… link to m.youtube.com
Assuming Simmons suits up this year (which I don’t think is 100% by any means) it will be entertaining to see how these “Simmons could be Draymond!” takes age.
For one thing, how serious are his back issues? But no – let’s put that aside. Even at full (mental and physical) health, Ben was an ace PERIMETER defender. There’s no real evidence he can (or wants to) defend the paint.
What’s more concerning is Brooklyn has no frontcourt depth beyond Claxton, who’s maybe a 20-22mpg guy? It’s like BK is going into the season just assuming Simmons is going to be their de facto center for 24 mpg, which seems a tad insane.
No real evidence of Ben defending the paint? Lol. He’s arguably the best & most versatile defender in the league. Watch video of him playing & you’ll see plenty of evidence of this.. If you’re late on Ben Simmons it makes sense that you’ve never heard of Day’Ron Sharpe. You might wanna get familiar with him. Also Claxton is obv capable of playing more than 22mins. And signing a guy like Tristan or Dwight for the vet min is extremely doable for Brooklyn.
Ben had a block rate between Bobby Portis and Garrett Temple in the last season he played, good for #72 in the league. Is that good? Maybe Brooklyn can sign Temple for some frontcourt depth.
I’ve watched my fair share of Simmons, but I – like most people who aren’t professional scouts – can’t watch everything, which is why I prefer to rely on stats than anecdotes like, “Damn I saw this dude make a great block in the 5 games I watched Philly play last season!”
Stats suggest that Simmons is far from a great interior defender, although to be fair he hasn’t played there a ton. But, to be fair, Simmons gripe in Philly wasn’t that he wasn’t Draymond Green – his gripe was that he thought he should be Steph Curry, the franchise centerpiece.
Sharpe could be good … he’s 20 though, we’ll see.
I like Claxton – saying he’s a 22mpg is no insult. But ok … let’s just say I agree with you on him. What is he? A 32 mpg player? How many non-Thibs bigs play more than that? Brooklyn would still need at least one other viable 5 in the rotation.
Reading stats & listening to other ppl give their opinions on players is cool but you’re understanding of these guys & the game in general, is gonna continue to be lacking unless you watch the actual games. He’s played with Embiid his entire pro career but at LSU he was dominant defensively as a big & anytime he gets switched onto a big he more than holds his own defensively. Simmons never said anything about wanting to be Steph or the franchise centerpiece. Obv this is fantasy that you made up lol. His coach never liked him & threw him under the bus when they lost. That’s mainly why he left. And as for the other viable 5 I already said Day’Ron Sharpe & signing a cheap vet. Brooklyn is gonna be just fine no matter how much it hurts yalls feelings lol
Lol who doesn’t watch sports now. You are aware that Ben Simmons and his father only view him as a POINT GUARD. His father would take him to games, if he didn’t play the point, his dad would take him to another court. At LSU they tried to play him at Small Forward and again him and his family threw a hissy fit and sat out of games. He even sat out the NIT. What’s even more crazy to me, you think Brett Brown and Doc Rivers hated the kid. Hey if want to pick and choose what to watch and listen to go for it. But the overgrown child has been pampered and allowed to do whatever he wants his whole life. It came crashing down on him and no one gave him a parachute. It’s called real life! When life gets hard suck it up and be an adult. Making things up to suit your own argument only shows your a Net fan, I guess you could be trolling or you yourself is a child that doesn’t understand when things don’t go your way in the workforce. You suck it up and move on. It’s a job where you earn money for a living!
@MagicQ7 hits a number of points here right on the money! Ben Simmons, not unlike a lot of young basketball stars, has been coddled, and let do whatever he wanted and been worshipped like a school girl by Adult Men!
When the going got tough in the playoffs, and his own weaknesses were exposed to the world, Ben Simmons chose to pout. Ben blamed everybody, but himself.
Like Andrew Wiggins, Ben Simmons has now been dropped into the perfect “Role” player situation. If he embraces it, he might even be an All-Star like Wiggins. It will only happen as a role guy on the Nets. Multiple position defender, etc.
For those of you not old enough to have seen Magic Johnson, please pull up some highlights. This is what a “true” point guard looks like even at 6’9 or 6’10. Elevated the play of the entire team. Even won a title for the Lakers playing CENTER after Kareem got hurt. The man slid to the 5 spot and dropped 42 points in the NBA Finals!
I watch plenty of hoops, I reference both stats and my subjective watching habits – you haven’t replied to my Garrett Temple suggestion though. Should BK sign him as a backup C? His block % was just as good as Ben’s …
Anyway ..you’re conflating seeing Simmons play in SPURTS well at the 5 with actually playing the 5 full time. I’m not saying he can’t, just that it’s a leap of faith –
And the Steph comment clearly wasn’t literal – but Simmons was widely reported to have not been happy with being the #2 option in PHI. You can choose to believe those leaks or not
Obv you’re putting way to much stock in block %. Playing the 5 requires alot more than whatever block % u find acceptable. But why choose Temple instead of Portis? He was a main reason Milwaukee won the title as their backup 5… I never said Ben should be Brooklyns full time 5. I’ve never seen anyone say that. Playing the 5 in spurts is exactly what he’ll be doing. That’s why they’re saying he’ll be their version of Draymond. Draymond isn’t GSWs full time 5… you say you watch plenty of hoops. If that’s the case then your understanding of the game should be better fr. This game isn’t that complicated
Am I? No, you’re probably right – I should put more stock in watching YouTube clips and college games I watched Simmons play 7 years ago lol.
Speaking of things that aren’t complicated: Ben Simmons has been a full-time PG his entire career. Assuming someone can just switch positions mid-career is, IDK, pretty optimistic – for any player really, never mind Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played basketball in over a year and apparently has somewhat serious back issues.
But either way we can have this conversation later on when your theory is proven right or wrong.
If I remember correctly you were equally confident that the Hawks were the “next dynasty” after they beat Philly two years ago, no?
How’d they do this year anyway – about the same as Brooklyn would do with Temple as their starting 5?
Yea you clearly are lol theres a reason you dont hear anyone else going on about block rate… Again I call bs on you watching Ben play in college. If you had then you’d know he hasnt been a full-time pg his whole career. But it’s definitely the full games you should watch as opposed to youtube clips. This stuff seems like it should be obvious… As for him switching positions mid career lol dude you are outing yourself as someone who has zero comprehension of Ben’s game. His game is based on versatility. He largely plays position-less basketball. He can initiate his team’s offense & just as easily/comfortably be a finisher in the dunk position & often does this in same possession… lol my “theory” of Ben being an elite basketball player has been proven time & time again but the catch is that you have to actually watch the games to understand it… lol the fact that u attempt to deflect & bring up the Hawks is further proof of your argument crashing & burning. No response to the Portis (your own example) question I see. No admission of being wrong about thinking Ben would be the Nets full-time 5 either. Its cool lol i wasnt expecting 1. But fr if yall hate Ben so much & are so invested in him failing you should prob do a lil more research on him & find out what you’re up against lol. He’s not just a pg. Most basketball fans picked that up yrs ago
You’re being disingenuous on “full-time 5” and you know it – the question is: will Ben Simmons have to defend the interior (either 4s or 5s) given the Nets current roster construction? And the answer is: “Probably.” Or at least that seems to be the plan.
But then again what does it matter to you? Ben is obviously going to succeed at whatever he does! Did you see him at LSU??
Honestly … IDK what you’re even talking about with Portis. So Bobby Portis is a legit rim protector, is that the argument now? I think your Hawks Dynasty was a better one tbh, bc I thought Portis was an offense-first big off the bench. Temple is the more absurd comp, but Portis isn’t much better if your argument is Ben Simmons is an elite interior defender based on block rate.
But then again what does it matter to you? Block rate doesn’t mean anything! Stop leaning in on it so much!
Have a good evening pal. I look forward to re-convening on this once the season starts :)
There is no question Simmons is a elite defender who can effectively guard 1-5. At 6″10 245 and physical as hell it’s no issue . Believe me Ben when motivated is a bad man.
He left philly because he couldn’t handle the heat. His coach had his back the entire season and all throughout a dismal playoff performance. In spite of the hack a Ben strategy,I might add. Blame his immaturity but please stop with the under the bus excuse.
I’d love to watch Simmons get tossed around by the real 5’s in the league. Bring it.
How are u gonna love watching him back in the AllStar game & getting paid around $25-30M/yr lol I’m guessing you’re gonna hate that
You been watching the NBA the past few years?? Traditional big men have been taken out of the game by rule changes. Big guys may still be big, but they spend a good deal of time on perimeter. Embiid, Jokic, Towns … Ben Simmons will be just fine at the 5.
How many months have I been telling people on this board that Ben Simmons was gonna become “Draymond Green” for Brooklyn?????
He played the 5 in philly and more than held his own.
Ben Simmons still plays basketball?
Ben Simmons has to turn into a basketball player first before he can turn into Draymond.
Dray’s strengths as a defender, rebounder, and point-forward out running bigs up the floor looking to create have been HUGE to the dubs success. Very few like him, BUT when you compare Ben Simmons stats with Dray, you begin to see how Ben might fit into that role. Dray does have fire-in-the-belly competitive drive. Simmons…..well, lets see.