Camila Sosa
When Ben Simmons joined the Brooklyn Nets on February 10 in a mega-trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, the NBA world went into shock at the mere thought of the organization would assemble heading into the final stretch of the regular season and playoffs.
Despite sending James Harden to the 76ers, the Nets received Ben Simmons along with Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, players who are quite productive on the court, joining the fearsome offensive duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, as well as Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills.
A fearsome roster with experienced players who have performed on all the teams where they have played and who, with the arrival of the two-time All-Defensive player, were expected to reach at least the team’s first final since the 2001-2002 season. Something that at the moment, to the regret of Nets fans, is far from happening, not to say that it is practically impossible for it to happen.
Not only is Brooklyn one game away from being swept in the first round of the postseason by the Boston Celtics, but Ben Simmons, the 25-year-old who will earn $33 million guaranteed this season, hasn’t played a single minute in 2021-2022 and apparently won’t after not being listed as available for Game 4 of the series.
Just as you read it. After several days in which it was rumored that finally the point guard would make his Nets debut and try to contribute to a historic comeback, according to a report by Adrian Wojnawroski from ESPN.com, Simmons woke up, for the umpteenth time, with back problems and will not see action Monday night.
Since When Has Ben Simmons not Seen Action in an NBA game?
Ben Simmons has not played in an NBA game since June 20 of last season, when the 76ers lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Atlanta Hawks. From then on, the Australian’s story has been a complete novel, first reporting mental health issues, which led him not to join Philadelphia during the first half of this season, and after his trade to the Nets he has suffered constant back discomfort due to a herniated disc surgery he underwent during the preseason.
Well, this novel added a new chapter this Monday after hearing the news, which of course exploded the social networks and has caused the release of several reports that indicate the disbelief of several people in the organization with the situation of Ben Simmons.
One of them is revealed by ESPN reporter Brian Windhosrt, in which he comments that several people within the organization appear to have thrown in the towel on the player’s case.
“When I talked to people involved, they were exasperated. They said he woke up, his back hurt and he wasn’t able to play. There wasn’t much more to say. They’re pretty much waving the white flag on this one. It’s extraordinarily disappointing.”
Brian Windhorst on how they feel about the Simmons case within the Nets.
And while we can’t say — nor do anything I believe — that Ben Simmons’ return to the boards could have helped the Nets win four straight games from the Celtics, it certainly would have been a sign of commitment and competitiveness from the 2017-2018 Rookie of the Year, who has one contract remaining, fully guaranteed, for three seasons and $113.6 million.
This contract will leave him playing in Brooklyn until the 2024-25 season and he will have to use it to make the team’s fans forget his lack of fierceness to go out on the court and help a team that needs him and that welcomed him with open arms for at least 10 or 15 minutes.
With this attitude, Ben Simmons is proving that he is not made for big moments. While he may have some discomfort, leaders always guide their teams through adversity and he is not built to overcome it. It’s not enough to train with your teammates and wear fashionable outfits that stand out on the bench. This is about commitment and professionalism, which is what the player did not show when he hinted that he might wear a uniform in the vital Game 4 and ended not do so in the end.
While Ben Simmons should be fully recovered for the start of next season, he himself has been responsible for sowing a great doubt within the team’s management and his own teammates. If he is not ready to play postseason after almost a calendar year out of action, will he be ready to commit one hundred percent next year? If the team is not competitive in the coming seasons, will his injuries be recurrent? His track record in Philadelphia casts a lot of doubt on him and as the bad tongues say: become famous, then go to sleep!
