Why I Hope The Nets Pass On Simmons For Harden
We’ve come a long way in this country, yet with plenty of road miles still ahead, in destigmatizing mental illness.
And then along came Ben Simmons.
The Sixers’ three-time All-Star who, according to several reports (though denied by one particular ace journalist) is the featured player in trade discussions surrounding Brooklyn superstar James Harden in advance of Thursday’s deadline, has not suited up for his team this season. He was seen haphazardly going through the motions at some team practices earlier in the season before Philadelphia Head Coach Doc Rivers kicked him out on October 19 for failing to join in on a drill. It was only a few days later, when the Sixers resumed fining him, that Simmons first claimed that he was mentally unready to play.
No one can pass judgment on Simmons’ unknown state of mind, but it is curious that Philadelphia is still fining him about $360,000 for each game missed after he met with the team specialist on November 8. The Sixers did pay out the $8.25 million (25% of his $33 million 2021-22 salary) that was due on October 1, but we haven’t heard a peep about any grievance filed by Simmons to the NBA Players Association regarding the subsequent missed checks—you’d think he’d have a strong case given his condition. Curious indeed.
Nets fans, this is who you’ll get if Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks pulls the trigger on a Harden deal.
The Sixers, who gave Simmons a maximum five-year contract that runs through 2024-25, have been pleading with him since he was selected No. 1 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft to work on his perimeter jump shot. It’s not just three-point shooting, of which he has knocked down just 5-of-34 attempts (14.7%) over his four-year career. Last season, he shot 39.2% outside of the restricted area and 61.3% from the foul line. Mind you, he’s been a nearly 60% free throw shooter each season for his entire career, indicating almost no improvement since he turned pro.
It got worse in last season’s playoffs, with Simmons’ numbers dropping to 36.8% from outside the restricted area (with just one field goal attempt outside the paint in 12 games) and an untenable 34.2% from the line. Many suspected that Simmons purposely avoided the ball in fourth quarters out of fear of getting fouled. His decision to pass on a wide-open layup/dunk late in Philly’s Game 7 loss against Atlanta in the Eastern Conference Finals will go down as one of the city’s most unforgivable sins in their sorry sports history.
Nets fans, this is who you’ll get if Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks pulls the trigger on a Harden deal.
Elite NBA players are notorious for using their summers to work on their games, whether it’s fixing flaws in mechanics or adding new maneuvers to their repertoires. On Twitter, I was happy to reference Alex Schiffer’s excellent story in The Athletic (Inside James Harden’s beautiful mind, the tool that could lead the former MVP — and the Nets — to an NBA title – The Athletic) on what Harden does in normal offseasons—you know, when he’s not rehabbing a severely injured hamstring.
Here's a story I heard about Simmons: The Sixers sent assistant coach Sam Cassell to his house in Los Angeles last summer as a helpful peace offering. Cassell is a very popular ex-player (including parts of three seasons as a New Jersey Net), not some taskmaster. The two had worked together harmoniously in the past. This time, Simmons dismissively sent Cassell away.
Nets fans, this is who you’ll get if Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks pulls the trigger on a Harden deal.
I don’t get this from a Nets perspective. Did Marks and his basketball operations department sit down at their swanky HSS Practice Facility offices and conclude, “Do you know what this team needs? Another non-shooter--and another problem child to boot!”
I will be fair and acknowledge Simmons’ skillset amplified by his 6-foot 11 height and unreal athleticism. He is lethal in transition, a willing passer (career 7.7 assists per game), and can be a defensive demon. Some of that will fit in nicely in Brooklyn, especially the quickened pace, but let’s not go overboard. It certainly helped Simmons’ defensive metrics to have another NBA First Team All-Defense member in center Joel Embiid behind him.
In 2020-21, Simmons posted the league’s ninth-best defensive rating among players who averaged at least 24 minutes per game (minimum 40 games played), per NBA.com, with the Sixers allowing 106 points per 100 possessions during his 1,877 minutes. Fortunately for Simmons, he got to spend 1,164 of those minutes alongside Embiid, and that duo produced a stout defensive rating of 102.8. How effective will Simmons be when he has LaMarcus Aldridge or Blake Griffin backing him up in Brooklyn instead?
And for those who presume Simmons can easily slide into a Bruce Brown-type role as a pick-and-roll screener on offense, he wasn’t all good at that either last season, according to NBA.com. He finished off 23 possessions as the roll man, after which he shot 8-for-17 (47%), committed 3 turnovers, and was fouled 3 times, including an and-1, for a 0.87 points per possession metric. He then accounted for 3 points in just 4 such playoff possessions (0.75 ppp). For comparison purposes, Brown, having a down year, is averaging 0.89 ppp as the roll man after owning the 40th most efficient rate last season (60 possessions minimum) at 1.14 ppp.
I am willing to wait until the total return package for Harden is unveiled before commenting further on how the Nets fared, if something does indeed go down in the next 20-odd hours before the deadline. However, this idea that Simmons solves a lot of Brooklyn’s issues, as if he’s going to single-handedly shut down players of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s caliber, is misleading. I’m worried Simmons will create almost as many issues as he solves.