The ‘red flag’ in Simmons’ sad slide… and ‘big question’ that will decide Aussie’s future

Once again, Simmons finds himself at a crossroads. Initially there was optimism that the departure of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving opened up an opportunity for Simmons to make strides — and mistakes — without the same intense spotlight at Brooklyn.

But instead, the 26-year-old’s season came to a premature end, with the Nets confirming on Wednesday what had already been long accepted — that Simmons would not be coming back.

“Ben will not be joining us the rest of the year and through the playoffs,” coach Jacque Vaughn said.

“After consulting with our doctors, multiple specialists, he’s just going to begin a rehab program. Our doctors and the specialists feel and think that he’ll have a full recovery so that starts now.”

Simmons hasn’t played for Brooklyn since its final game before the All-Star break and even when he was on the court there wasn’t much clarity over his exact role in the new-look Nets.

“Everything’s been changing all year, so it’s hard to really understand what’s going on,” he said.

Coach Vaughn said on Wednesday that the “goal” for Brooklyn is to get Simmons, who has another two years remaining on his contract, back to the player he was.

But what exactly that version of Simmons looks like is uncertain at this point. After all, the Australian showed flashes this season but struggled to assert himself on the offensive end with any real consistency.

That may come with more confidence in both his body and role on the team. Although it’s hard to see Simmons playing at level that justifies the nearly $80 million he is owed over the next two years ($37.9 million in 2023-24 and $40.3 million in 2024-25).

“I was just thinking immediately when I heard this news that he’s probably the most expensive player in basketball relative to his production in the way that is not the best,” WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike said on ‘NBA Today’.

“Only giving you six points six, rebounds six assists, career-lows across the board and you’re paying him that much? That makes you very expensive in the worst ways possible.”

But the fact that Simmons was not traded along with Irving and Durant before this year’s deadline spoke to just how hard it will be for Brooklyn to move off his contract.

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks said at the time of the Irving deal with Dallas that Simmons had “zero trade value” around the league.

And so perhaps it is in Brooklyn’s best interests to persist with Simmons and hope the three-time All-Star shows enough to recuperate some value and make him worth trading in the first place.

Otherwise, it is likely the Nets will end up adding draft compensation to dump Simmons’ salary to a rebuilding team with cap space.

“When I think about the big picture here, the Nets can’t afford to give up on a player like that because of the contract and the situation that they’re in,” Ogwumike said.

“There are not many buyers there for it. But the big question here is, will Ben Simmons give up on himself?

“It feels like we’re witnessing him in this situation, this season, sort of give up on himself because you think about confidence offensively, he was never really that huge offensive, go-to player even though he averaged double figures in seasons past.

“But defensively is where he gets his bread and butter and you look at, ‘Okay, if you’re going to try to find defensive confidence, what are the numbers?’ They’re only one point better defensively when he’s on the floor and that to me is another red flag.

“But I do think that the silver lining here is just the idea that he switched agency, he switches representation, now they’re saying let’s reset for next year and maybe that whole time will be a better fresh start for him to really feel better when he comes back.”

Lowe, meanwhile, said the moves the Nets made at the deadline meant they are ready to confidently move into the post-Durant, Irving era — “with or without Simmons”.

“You just hope we can come back and see the Ben Simmons that we used to see — 16-6-6, All-Defensive level defence, that guy,” Lowe said.

“But the Nets really have moved on. When you look at what they got for Durant, what they got for Kyrie, all the picks they got, all of that stuff — they’ve kind of moved on to the next phase of the franchise.”

Former NBA player Richard Jefferson though took a very different position on the Simmons situation.

For him, the Australian’s decline is neither unusual nor unfamiliar. It’s just how it is in professional sport. Not everyone makes it, irrespective of how talented they may be.

“I think the best way to say this is that we root for every player, we know how hard it is to get here, we know how hard it is to get drafted, a second contract,” Jefferson said.

“But do I have any emotional feeling towards it now? No, because we’ve seen it all before. We’ve seen players with all the talent in the world not making it. We’ve seen players with all the talent in the world decide to just move on and step away from the game.

“When you ask me about Ben Simmons, I know a lot of guys like that… if this is his story and this is how it finishes, then I wish him the best.”

The curious case of Simmons though will always draw attention given the way his career started, compared to Magic Johnson and later drafted by the Sixers with the first overall pick.

It’s not like the comparisons were unwarranted or pure fantasy either, with Simmons living up to the hype early in his career with a historic rookie campaign.

Even more recently, the 26-year-old put up three consecutive All-Star seasons and re-established his position as one of the league’s best and most versatile defenders.

This season though, Simmons averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 42 games for Brooklyn — all career-low numbers.

“I think this is interesting just because of the great expectations when he came into the league,” Ogwumike said.

“He was like that prodigy, he was that phenom and there were great expectations on him. A lot of comps to LeBron James in how he was able to facilitate the ball and then he goes to a team where he’s successful.

“I think it’s just this rapid decline that unfortunately is circumstantial. You look at the Brooklyn Nets overall. They had so many stars, they’re all gone and now the star remaining is the one that probably is the hardest one to try to revive and that’s a difficult place as a franchise, that’s a difficult place as a player to be.

“It’s been a transitional year but nonetheless we haven’t seen any evidence to feel like we feel better about it. And you’re right we’ve all been there, we’ve all been injured, we’ve all been traded but I think it’s the expectations and the microscope on Ben Simmons that makes this unique.”

It was only a few years ago that Simmons was among the elite players in the league. Heck — in 2021 he finished 12th in MVP voting.

But even if he doesn’t get back to that place again and instead is more of a solid role player, at least that’s something the Nets — and Simmons — can build off.

For former NBA player Jalen Rose though, it will all come back to whether Simmons has the “mental fortitude” to reinvent himself and approach, including to his shooting.

“Psychologically is he going to have the mental fortitude, once he gets back healthy, to reinvent himself as a role player, because that’s what he’s going to be called upon to be going forward,” Rose said.

“And this game is so very hard when you can’t shoot. Psychologically, I always felt he was going to the bucket finishing with his right hand, but going to the free-throw line shooting with his left hand and I felt the entire time, he was shooting with the incorrect hand.

“So for a guy that played on the perimeter who doesn’t shoot shots outside of the paint at all, that’s another psychological barrier that he’s going to have to get over.”