Ben Simmons was introduced as a Brooklyn Net on Tuesday morning.
Not only did it mark the beginning of a new chapter in Simmons’ career and Nets basketball, but it was also the first time he spoke publicly since his press conference following the infamous Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Simmons’ debut for Brooklyn cannot arrive soon enough. The Nets are seven games back of the East’s top seed — likely an insurmountable deficit, at this point. They’re currently sitting at 8th in the conference, 2.5 games back of the 6-seed. If they can get to that spot, Brooklyn will avoid the play-in tournament. Meanwhile, the Nets have 25 games left on their regular season schedule and Kyrie Irving, who is ineligible to play in New York due to his stance opposite the vaccinate mandate, only projects to be eligible to play 8 of those 25 games.
Here are three takeaways from Simmons’ first press conference with the organization.