Brian Goorjian to Nets’ Ben Simmons: ‘I’m not recruiting you’

According to Olgun Unc of ESPN, Australia head coach Brian Goorjian said that he isn’t begging Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons to play.

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Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has reportedly recovered from the nerve impingement in his back that prematurely ended his 2022-23 season after an overall disappointing campaign in which he played just 42 games. While Simmons is said to be the healthiest he’s been since his day as a Philadelphia 76er, there are some teams who are not begging him to put on their jersey.

According to Olgun Unc of ESPN, Brian Goorjian, head coach of the Australian Men’s National Basketball Team, recently said in an interview that while the Boomers would love for Simmons to play for them, it’s important that the team doesn’t appear to be begging for him to play. Goorjian made sure to point out that the team is plenty capable of winning games without Simmons.

Simmons, 27, last played for his homeland Australia in 2013 and while Simmons tried to play for Australia again in 2014, he missed the selection for the team that year and Goorjian believes that has something to do with Simmons seemingly refusing to play for Australia at every turn. Ultimately, Goorjian said that he isn’t begging Simmons to play because it would be a mutually-beneficial decision for both sides.

There are recent reports that Simmons can now focus on training for the upcoming season since he has fully recovered form his back ailment. According to Simmons’ agent, he should be ready to fully participate once training camp comes around in the fall.

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