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Nets Notes: Simmons, Durant, Irving, Brown

March 3rd, 2022 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

With Nets guard Ben Simmons considered “week to week” as he reconditions, the odds of him taking the court in time to play his old team in Philadelphia on March 10 have steadily declined. On Wednesday’s episode of NBA Today (video link), ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski essentially closed the door on the idea of Simmons playing next Thursday.

“It’s not happening,” Wojnarowski flatly stated, after Shelburne suggested it was “very unlikely.”

According to Shelburne, the Nets want Simmons to be able to “go hard” in practices with the team for at least a full week before he’s cleared to play, and so far he hasn’t reached the stage in his ramp-up process where he’s doing that at all.

Here’s more on the Nets:

Kevin Durant, who is set to return on Thursday following a 21-game injury absence, said today that he feels “energized” and is confident the 32-31 Nets can finish the season strong, though he knows that confidence only goes so far. “I can be confident all I want, if we don’t go out there and actually put the work in then nothing going to happen,” Durant said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “So I can speak about how confident we are and how things look and give you taglines what our team may be; I can market my team to you right now, but we got to go out there and actually get in some reps, practice and the game in order to really see who we are, and what works best for us.”
While it’s great news for the Nets that Durant is back, Kyrie Irving‘s ongoing part-time availability and Simmons’ absence mean the club is running out of time to have its new Big Three establish chemistry, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Chris Sommerfeldt and Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News explain why Irving’s status as a New Jersey resident doesn’t make him from exempt from the vaccine mandate that applies to professional athletes who play in New York City.
When Brooklyn waived DeAndre’ Bembry in order to accommodate last month’s blockbuster trade with Philadelphia, the team was essentially choosing Bruce Brown over Bembry, according to Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post, who says that decision has paid off. Brown has started the Nets’ last eight games, averaging 12.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.6 SPG on .493/.471/.769 shooting during that stretch.

Kevin Durant Expected To Return On Thursday

March 2nd, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets star Kevin Durant is expected to return to action on Thursday after being sidelined for the team’s last 21 games due to a knee injury. As Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets, Durant isn’t listed on the injury report for Thursday’s game in Brooklyn vs. the Heat.

Durant was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral in his left knee on January 16. At the time, an ESPN report stated that team officials were optimistic the former MVP would be able to get back on the court in about four-to-six weeks. The Nets played it safe with their leading scorer — Thursday will represent the seven-week mark since that diagnosis.

In 36 games (36.5 MPG) so far this season, Durant is averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists with a shooting line of .520/.372/.894.

His return will be significant for a Nets team that only has Kyrie Irving available on a part-time basis due to his vaccination status and is still waiting for three-time All-Star Ben Simmons to make his Brooklyn debut. The club slumped badly with Durant out of action, winning just five of its last 21 games and slipping from the No. 2 seed in the East to No. 8.

Simmons is reportedly being considered “week to week,” and Irving is still waiting for some good news regarding the vaccine mandate that applies to New York City’s private sector. The Nets are hopeful that the roster will be at full strength before the postseason begins in mid-April. Of course, as things stand, Brooklyn will have to win a play-in game to even earn a playoff berth.

New York Notes: KD, Simmons, Reddish, Sims

March 1st, 2022 at 9:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star forward Kevin Durant could return from his sprained left knee MCL as soon as this Thursday or Saturday, Nets head coach Steve Nash indicated, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant has been sidelined since injuring his knee on January 5.

“We’re hopeful that he can play this week,” Nash said. “So Kevin’s getting close, which is exciting.”

In the 36 games he has been healthy, Durant has been his typical All-NBA self for the Nets. This season, he is averaging 29.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 5.8 APG, with shooting splits of .520/.372/.894.

“He’s going to come back and impact the game every way possible,” new Nets starting center Andre Drummond said of Durant. “I think with our chemistry together on the floor, it’s going to make it very difficult for teams to pick their poison, with who they want to guard, along with Kyrie [Irving], Seth [Curry] and when Ben [Simmons] comes back. And we go on the list of our roster, we have a lot of threats.”

There’s more out of the City That Never Sleeps:

Rich Paul, the agent for new Nets addition Ben Simmons, told Brian Windhorst of ESPN (video link) that Simmons should be thought of as “week-to-week” with back soreness as he works his way into game shape ahead of his 2021/22 season debut. Windhorst expressed uncertainty about whether Simmons would even be ready at any point in March for Brooklyn, suggesting that he’s “frankly not close” to debuting for his new team.
With Knicks wing Quentin Grimes unavailable for much of the remaining season, new swingman Cam Reddish finally has a path to regular rotation minutes in New York, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “I’m trying to work my way in,” Reddish said. “Just trying to make the right play, really. Not trying to force it too much. But yeah, I think the last 20 games are definitely a good spot to start.” In 11 games with New York thus far, Reddish is averaging 5.4 PPG, 1.0 RPG and 0.7 SPG across 12.5 MPG.
With the 25-36 Knicks seemingly stuck on the outside of the play-in race looking in, rookie reserve center Jericho Sims has been getting some run as New York looks towards the future, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “[Sims is] a great kid, great worker, getting better day by day,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said Tuesday. “Very diligent. Comes in and watches film and wants to do well. So I think this experience is really good for him.” Sims has displaced Nerlens Noel in the rotation as Noel continues to grapple with a plantar fasciitis injury. 36-year-old veteran center Taj Gibson has also been a healthy scratch for the last two games in favor of the No. 58 pick in the 2021 draft.

Nets Notes: Curry, Drummond, Simmons, Irving, Nash

February 28th, 2022 at 7:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While Ben Simmons remains out of action, two other players dealt from the Sixers to the Nets have been productive, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. In five starts with Brooklyn, Seth Curry is averaging 19.2 PPG on 47.4% shooting from deep, while Andre Drummond is posting a double-double (11.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG) in 22 MPG. Curry’s contract runs through next season, while Drummond will be a free agent this summer.

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Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers is pleased to see Drummond take on an expanded role in Brooklyn, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Rivers was happy the way Drummond accepted a backup role with the Sixers and said the former All-Star is missed from a chemistry standpoint.
Simmons’ back soreness that caused a delay in his return is a minor issue and he’ll try once again to work his way into playing shape this week, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (video link). “This is the same back issue he had at the beginning of training camp when he returned to Philadelphia,” she said. “This is something he’s had for a couple of years. … The plan is the same this week, ramp it up and see where you’re at.” However, coach Steve Nash has already ruled out Simmons from practicing this week, Lewis tweets.
As we noted last week, Kyrie Irving is excited by the possibility of vaccine mandates being relaxed in New York City. However, mayor Eric Adams reiterated in a CNBC interview he’s in no rush to do so, according to an ESPN report. “We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue,” Adams said. “I can’t have my city closed down again. It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees, ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.'”
Nash did not coach on Monday after being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, Lewis tweets. Jacque Vaughn filled in for him.

Ben Simmons Bothered By Back Soreness

February 26th, 2022 at 5:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ben Simmons has suffered pain in his back while reconditioning to start playing again, so his debut with the Nets could be further delayed, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Additional strengthening of the area will be necessary before Simmons can resume playing.

Brooklyn is treating the condition as a “day-to-day process,” Charania adds (Twitter link). There’s no set timetable for him to start playing and there’s no way to tell if he will be ready for a return to Philadelphia on March 10.

Coach Steve Nash said Simmons’ condition isn’t extreme and is understandable for someone who has been out of action for so long, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Simmons, who was the centerpiece of the trade deadline deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the Sixers were knocked out of the playoffs last June. Amid a protracted standoff with the team, he participated in a few practices, but has mostly been working out on his own.

He began practicing regularly with the Nets following the deal, but Nash admitted this week that there are still conditioning issues. An ESPN report on Tuesday stated that Simmons was “getting close” and planned to “really ramp it up this week” in regard to conditioning, but that apparently resulted in the back issue.

Nets Notes: Dragic, Durant, Simmons, Curry, Irving

February 25th, 2022 at 7:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Goran Dragic is probable to make his Nets debut on Saturday against Milwaukee, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. Dragic has been reconditioning since signing with the club after passing through waivers. Dragic played five games for Toronto this season but hasn’t been active since November 13. Kevin Durant (left knee – MCL sprain) remains sidelined.

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Ben Simmons‘ team and season debut has been held back due to conditioning, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “It’s been a long layoff, right?” coach Steve Nash said. “So he hasn’t played NBA basketball for a long time, so just trying to work through that.”
While some have suggested there was friction between Seth Curry and Simmons in Philadelphia, Curry says that’s inaccurate, ESPN’s Nick Friedell reports. They’re now teammates in Brooklyn, as Curry was included in the blockbuster deal. “I don’t take anything personal,” Curry said. “When we’re on the court, we’re teammates. Everything’s fine. And we depend on each other to do good things. There’s been nothing negative he’s done to me personally, so I’m fine.”
Kyrie Irving is excited by the possibility of New York City relaxing its vaccination rules and allowing him to play home games, Friedell writes in a separate story. “I sense a real focus and urgency from (mayor Eric Adams),” Nash said. “And so if that’s any indication, I would say he is getting excited at the prospect of being allowed to play in all our games and hopefully in the short term.” However, there are no set dates regarding a rollback of the mandates, as Adams urges caution, Lewis reports.

Nets Notes: Dragic, Durant, Simmons, D. Green

February 24th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Goran Dragic didn’t intend to sit out most of the season, but he said there was no defined role for him with the Raptors, according to a Sportsnet.ca story. Dragic, who chose the Nets after receiving interest from several teams following his buyout with the Spurs, spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since signing with Brooklyn.

“It’s been a unique situation this year for me, unfortunately couldn’t get along in Toronto, they said they wanted to go young, they didn’t see me to be a part of that team,” Dragic said. “We talked and they said we’re going to trade you, we agreed I go home to be with my family until everything got resolved.”

The Raptors acquired Dragic in the offseason trade that sent Kyle Lowry to the Heat, but he was never in their long-term plans. He played just five games before taking a leave of absence in November. The Nets will play in Toronto next week, and Dragic is looking forward to returning to the city.

“(I have) no hard feelings towards them, wish them all the best … we play against them twice in next couple of weeks so should be interesting,” he said.

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Nets players were heavily involved in recruiting Dragic once his buyout became official, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and others sent text messages to Dragic urging him to join them in Brooklyn. Dragic said the Nets were among six contenders that tried to sign him.
Although Dragic has been training during his absence, coach Steve Nash doesn’t plan to use him in tonight’s game against the Celtics, according to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic (Twitter link). Nash said Dragic needs to practice with the team a few times, but he doesn’t expect his debut to be far off. Nash added that he expects Durant to be ready before Simmons, but there are no definite dates for either to begin playing again.
Simmons’ first game back in Philadelphia is scheduled for March 10, but Sixers guard Danny Green doesn’t expect to see him on the court, writes Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. On his “Inside the Green Room” podcast, Green said Andre Drummond and Seth Curry, who were also traded to Brooklyn, “weren’t on the most cordial terms” with Simmons when they were all together in Philadelphia. Green added that his reaction to Simmons will be determined by his actions if he does play March 10. “I understand you have a mental health issue, I understand you don’t want to play where you want to — whatever it is, you did what you needed to do to make better for you in your life. That’s cool,” Green said. “Do I think you could have handled it better? For sure, because we had nothing against you as teammates, still have nothing against you. But it all depends on how that game goes, how he interacts in that game, how well he plays or how cleanly or non-cleanly he or us plays against each other, is going to determine how we shake hands.”

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Sixers, Knicks, Durant, Simmons

February 22nd, 2022 at 10:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Five-time Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid admitted that he considered quitting basketball entirely during his rookie year, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid was drafted by the Sixers in 2014 with the third pick out of Kansas, but didn’t suit up for Philadelphia until the 2016/17 season. Surgeries for a navicular bone in his right foot delayed Embiid’s NBA debut for two years while he grieved the death of a family member off the court.

“You look back at my first year after the surgery,” Embiid said. “Obviously, I lost my brother at that time, too. Going back to Cameroon, I really wanted to stop playing basketball and really retire because at that point you just had surgery, and everybody is talking about ‘You’re not going to make it’ or ‘You’re never going to play in the league,’ and, obviously, the loss of my brother was big. I wanted to give up. I almost did. It was hard.”

The 28-year-old has since become one of the most dominant centers in the NBA, and is currently building a convincing MVP case with a terrific and mostly healthy season thus far. He is averaging 29.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG and 4.5 APG through 46 games this season. Embiid boasts shooting splits of .495/.369/.813.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

While the identities of four Sixers starters are fairly clear heading into the home stretch of the 2021/22 NBA season, the team has several options for the fifth starting role, per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice. With James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and Embiid entrenched in the club’s starting lineup. Neubeck considers whether they’d be best complemented by the defensive attributes of Matisse Thybulle, the corner three-point shooting of Danny Green or Furkan Korkmaz, or the size advantage of Georges Niang.
With a 25-34 record, the Knicks face an uphill battle to even make the play-in tournament this season. Fred Katz of The Athletic wonders at what point second-year New York head coach Tom Thibodeau, whose job may be in jeopardy this summer, may opt to prioritize developing the team’s youth over less-than-meaningful victories. Katz also theorizes about the potential markets awaiting 2022 unrestricted free agent center Mitchell Robinson, and forward Cam Reddish, whom the Knicks could either opt to extend this summer or allow to reach restricted free agency next year.
Nets team president Sean Marks expects stars Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons to join the team on the hardwood fairly soon, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Depending when they go, we’ve got to see how they respond to days like [Tuesday], and we’ll go forward with this,” Marks said. “It’s probably going to be tough, to be honest, to be playing in the next three or four days. But we’ll see how it all plays out.”

Nets Notes: Drummond, Simmons, Trade Reactions

February 22nd, 2022 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran center Andre Drummond played more than 22 minutes just once in his final 31 games as a Sixer, but he has already exceeded that benchmark twice in three appearances since being traded to the Nets.

Drummond, who has averaged 21.7 minutes per game with the Nets, will likely see that number continue to increase as long as his conditioning is up to par, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The big man says he has felt “tired” since arriving in Brooklyn, but is looking forward to getting the chance to play more.

“From the moment I’ve got here, I condition in the morning and I condition after the game,” Drummond said. “So by the time the [All-Star] break is over, I should be back to normal again, just getting myself back in that speed and that mode again.”

Having averaged an impressive 12.3 rebounds per game in his part-time role so far, Drummond is helping to address an area of weakness for the Nets. Head coach Steve Nash, noting that his team had “struggled to rebound the ball,” said he’s counting on the 28-year-old to continue playing a key role.

“He fills needs that our group is looking for, and we’re excited for him to continue to get more comfortable in the way we play and also really get in great shape,” Nash said. “He’s going to play more minutes for us as far as the way we project things to go, so he’s used to [backing up Joel Embiid], but we’re asking him to play more.”

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The plan is for Ben Simmons to “really ramp it up this week” to see where he’s at in terms of his conditioning, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said during an appearance on NBA Today on Monday (video link). Although Shelburne suggests Simmons is “getting close,” she cautions that his Nets debut isn’t imminent yet. “It’s going to be more like weeks rather than months,” Shelburne said (hat tip to NetsDaily).
Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to a handful of players at All-Star Weekend to get their thoughts on the Simmons/James Harden blockbuster completed on February 10 by the Nets and Sixers. “Just 12 months ago … we were thinking Brooklyn was going to go on to win five championships in a row, and that was the narrative, ‘Who can stop this Big Three?’ It didn’t pan out that way, and now they’re shuffling the deck again,” veteran guard Fred VanVleet said, jokingly adding that, for the Raptors’ sake, he hopes the deal doesn’t work out for either team.
At 31-28, the Nets hold the No. 8 seed in the East and wouldn’t be guaranteed a playoff spot if the season ended today. However, veteran guard Patty Mills is optimistic about what the rest of the season will look like for the club, especially once Kevin Durant returns and Simmons is available. “I think being able to add the pieces we’ve added, getting people back from injury, this is who we got,” Mills said, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I keep talking about the vibe around the locker room and everyone enjoying each other’s presence. … You can feel it in the locker room and that’s gonna carry us a long way, I believe, if we can stay tight as a group. It’s gonna take all of us to get the job done. It’s a massive push for us coming up.”

Sixers Notes: Championship Potential, Simmons, Maxey

February 18th, 2022 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With just 24 games between now and the playoffs, it will be a challenge for the Sixers‘ new superstar duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid to mesh quickly enough to make the team a legitimate championship threat this spring.

However, head coach Doc Rivers‘ plan isn’t to work out the kinks this year and focus on winning a title in 2023. As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Rivers fully believes the team is capable of a championship run this spring and wants to make the most of the opportunity.

“I always think right now,” Rivers said on Thursday. “I’ve been in this league too long. And I always go back to [the Celtics’ 2007/08 NBA championship team.] Kevin [Garnett] and I talk about it all the time. I remember the first year during training camp we had a meeting and they were saying, ‘Man, we have to get it together. This might not be the year. But by next year, we might…’ I said, ‘Next year? Are you guys kidding me? Next year one of you can get hurt.’

“I know it’s short. I know it’s going to be hard to get it together. But having said that, the time is always now.”

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Appearing on the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said he believes Ben Simmons was dealing with mental health struggles in Philadelphia, as Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. “I believe him. He was going through something,” Morey said. “And it was just whether or not we could’ve gotten to the point where we would have him play basketball for us,”
During the same interview, Morey said he should have communicated better with Simmons when the Sixers were originally trying to acquire Harden from Houston in 2021, and that he “should have had a better relationship” with the former No. 1 overall pick. “I think knowing how sensitive he was to public comments that that behooved us to be, just organizationally, more careful on that,” Morey said, per Feldman. “I think it’s important you know your top players and their different spots where you have to pay attention.”
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey will replace injured Kings guard Davion Mitchell in Friday’s “Clutch Challenge,” a shooting competition that will take place prior to the Rising Stars final, the league announced in a press release. Maxey will team up with Toronto forward Scottie Barnes in the event.
In case you missed it, we asked on Thursday whether the Sixers or Nets are better positioned for a deep playoff run.