Because he hasn’t been anywhere close to NBA fitness over the past 8 months, the Brooklyn Nets have been taking it slow with Ben Simmons.
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There were rumors about a Ben Simmons – James Harden swap for a pretty long time before the trade actually took place. Once the Beard got traded to Brooklyn, however, those rumors died down even as Harden looked to settle into Nets life.
Things got mucked up, however, when injuries to both him and Kyrie Irving consigned them to a Conference Semifinals last year. Kevin Durant agonizingly had a toe on the line for what many assumed to be a Game 7 turnaround fadeaway game-winner.
What made things worse was the way in which Kyrie Irving has been dodging the world’s advice to get a Covid-19 vaccine. This meant that he’s sat over 70% of the Nets’ games this season, leading to an undeserved burden for James Harden.
Once it became clear that Harden was not going to sign a max contract extension this past summer, the Nets were compelled to put him on the trade market. And there’s probably no better asset for Sean Marks to acquire than Ben Simmons.
Is Ben Simmons playing tonight vs Milwaukee Bucks?
Being a defensive ace, Ben Simmons will be expected to shore up a surprisingly effective Brooklyn Nets defense this year. However, the Ben Simmons saga that started at the Sixers’ Game 7 post-game presser meant that he didn’t practice with his former team.
As a result, Simmons is as good as a lot of guys on the streets in terms of fitness right now. The Australian-born 6’10” point forward will be required to ramp up his endurance levels and his other fitness pretty soon. However, he’s clearly in no shape to take the court at the moment.
Ben will be watching his teammates from the sidelines as the Nets attempt to gain some momentum. They will, however, be without Kevin Durant tomorrow, meaning Kyrie Irving has to take a huge offensive load.
