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The Nets entered this regular season as the favorites to win the NBA title. On Tuesday morning, Brooklyn woke up to the only playoff team eliminated from the first round.
The Nets roster that lost four straight against Boston was far from the behemoth that general manager Sean Marks assembled entering training camp. Kyrie Irving lost his ability to play much of this 2021-22 campaign by choosing not to comply with New York City’s vaccination ordinance. Irving’s condition was one of many factors that influenced James Harden to request a trade from the franchise in February. The Nets’ numbers are also quick to point to the critical loss of floor spacer Joe Harris, who played just 14 games thanks to an ankle injury.
Ben Simmons’ absence from this postseason has drawn the most glaring attention of all. Before the Celtics’ series began on Easter Sunday, league sources told B/R that the 25-year-old three-time All-Star and the Nets’ staff were confident he was on track to play as soon as as Game 3. Then his supposed timeline became Game 4. That was until Sunday, when Simmons reported to Brooklyn staff that he was experiencing back pain, a day before Monday’s fateful Game 4 loss. .
Simmons, in theory, could have gotten up Monday morning and determined his back felt good enough to play. Several people close to him encouraged him to get back on the court, even with limited minutes, to establish a deeper connection with his teammates before next season, sources said. By all accounts, his ailing back isn’t 100 percent healthy, but few NBA players at this stage of the playoffs are free from some kind of nagging pain. Members of his representation and other close contacts even advised Simmons to at least sit on the bench in Brooklyn in his uniform and team warm-ups instead of the flashy outfits that turned into a spectacle.
Instead, the Nets ruled Simmons out of Game 4 entirely, sources said, as a sense of situational fatigue and general disappointment seemed to permeate the franchise. After visiting the court for pregame warmups before Game 3, Simmons did not participate in any pregame work Monday and was not on the bench with his teammates for Game 4, which a source told him. told B/R that it was due to his nagging back. discomfort. Simmons certainly wouldn’t have made his road debut in front of a hostile Boston crowd for Game 5. Could he have appeared in Game 6? We will never know.
But for all the growing concern and legitimate consideration of past issues that have plagued Simmons for several seasons, it’s pretty clear that the mental aspect of Simmons’ return to game action is the biggest hurdle standing between him. and an NBA court.
Throughout the tumultuous season, Simmons traded his explanations for not participating: the virulence of the Philly fanbase, Doc Rivers’ post-Game 7 comments, the desire to be the centerpiece of his own team, the pain back, but always refused at any time to rejoin the team. the floor arrived.
Sixers officials made repeated efforts to welcome Simmons back to their show, and it was clear to members of Simmons’s representation that returning to the court would have increased his business value, and thus the likelihood that he would win. Your wish for change will be granted. But Simmons was still holding out, sources told B/R, and he seemed determined to sit out the rest of the season if Philadelphia hadn’t moved him before the deadline.
Similar patterns of uncompetitive behavior date back to Simmons’ college days at LSU, when draft evaluators wondered if he was a better bet than Brandon Ingram for the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft. The Current Case Simmons’s, a distinct mental block of a certain ability, has now become the topic of debate in graduate-level sports psychology classes across the country.
Any front office kicked out of the first round, especially for a team that failed to win a single game, needs to consider sweeping changes. Naturally, there’s already speculation around the league about whether Brooklyn would consider trading Simmons this summer. But if teams were underestimating Philly to acquire Simmons, then seeing him as a struggling asset, it’s hard to imagine any interested suitors offering Brooklyn the same packages after this postseason debacle.
Minnesota was considered the most aggressive team in pursuit of Simmons, but since then the Timberwolves have had success elevating Anthony Edwards with more opportunities on the ball. Sacramento constantly called up Simmons, only to pivot and acquire Domantas Sabonis from Indiana. Would the Cavaliers still put up with the addition of Simmons after trading Caris LeVert and rising to the top of the Eastern Conference before injuries curtailed a great year for the franchise?
“Brooklyn just has to play a little bit. You really don’t have a choice,” a general manager told B/R. “I just don’t think [Simmons] It has real commercial value. He has not been responsible for two franchises. He has not played a full season due to a back injury. How can you make a trade with the possibility of him reporting and then saying he can’t play because of the back again?”
How Simmons approaches this offseason will be telling: whether he remains in Brooklyn at the team’s sprawling Industry City practice facility, rehabbing his back and working out on the floor with the Nets’ staff, or spends the summer away from the franchise enjoying a celebrity vacation mindset. , as he used to do during his tenure in Philadelphia. It’s obvious which scenario the Nets would prefer.
When healthy, the ceiling for a Durant-Irving-Simmons trio still seems pretty high. Last year’s runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year should provide much-needed reinforcements on that side of the ball. The Nets’ staff has further envisioned the additional play Simmons could provide both in transition and in the half court, either easing the ball or transforming into a devastating pick-and-roll partner for Durant and Irving, like a Bruce. Brown of great size and better pass. Boston’s defensive scheme stopped Brooklyn’s high-octane offense, and the Nets struggled to get into much midcourt action before much of the shot clock was already gone.
Second-year head coach Steve Nash has taken the brunt of the criticism for Brooklyn’s failure to release Durant for an easy appearance. In fact, questions have circulated around the league about the two-time MVP’s staying power at the helm of the Brooklyn bench. But Nash has a deep relationship with Durant and was marked by the Nets’ centerpiece just two seasons ago. Marks consults Durant on every major decision within Brooklyn’s basketball operations. There has been no indication that Durant’s opinion of Nash has changed, and he first bristled when asked about his faith in the coach Monday night.
“Yeah, Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last two years,” Durant said. “He had to deal with so many things as a first time coach: trades, injuries, COVID, a lot of things that he had to deal with. I’m proud of how, the focus and passion of him for us. All of us [will] continue to develop over the summer and see what happens.
And so there’s little expectation that Nash’s job is actually in jeopardy from the Brooklyn side of the equation. The event that could lead to a change in the Nets’ head coach may be Nash deciding to walk away from the situation himself. Speculation about that possibility has also begun to stir in league circles, including inside the Nets’ facility. A decorated former player doesn’t exactly need the dramatic trappings of a superteam and all the time away from family that training demands. Nash had to sing the franchise’s public tune during every media availability, even stating before the deadline that they wouldn’t trade Harden. But so far, the coach has behaved as if he planned to be a part of Brooklyn’s imminent future, sources said.
“I love doing this,” Nash told reporters after Game 4. “I love these guys. I love my staff. I love every department.” [I] It really had a great work environment, I really enjoyed it. I want to keep doing it.”
The only safe assumption going into this offseason is that Brooklyn will look different in some significant capacity. The Nets have a first-round pick and mid-tier contributor at their disposal and will need to address their shortcomings up front. It seems unlikely that LaMarcus Aldridge or Blake Griffin will return with this unit, and Nic Claxton faces an interesting restricted free agency after Brooklyn weighed in on his trade interest since last June’s draft.
But the North Star of the Nets franchise hasn’t wavered since July 2019. With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, contending for a championship will be the only measure he sees as satisfying any Brooklyn season, especially if Simmons can return to full force. strength.
Jake Fischer has covered the NBA for Bleacher Report since 2019 and is the author of Built to Lose: How the NBA’s Tank Era Changed the League Forever.
Reference-bleacherreport.com