The last time Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons stepped on the floor, he was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers and he played in Game 7 of the 2021 playoffs. He first held out for the Sixers due to his trade request and after he was moved to the Nets, he was dealing with back pain.
Therefore, it’s tough to really estimate what Simmons will look like when he finally takes the floor for Brooklyn in the 2022-23 season. Even Seth Curry, who played with Simmons in Philadelphia, says the 3-time All-Star should expect a challenging season.
With that being said, Simmons is still a very good player despite not playing at all in the 2021-22 season. In his last full season, he averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists along with 1.6 steals on his way to making an All-Defensive First Team appearance. It will be interesting to see what kind of player the Nets will get when he finally steps on the floor for them.
HoopsHype ranked the top 25 point guards in the NBA and Simmons comes in ranked 16th on the list:
In his last season of action, Simmons averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists to go with 1.6 steals back in 2020-21, an All-Star year for the big Australian. That same season, the Sixers were a noteworthy 6.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor, proving that his marks were far from empty. In the playoffs, that number was actually even bigger, as Simmons boasted a +19.6 swing rating during his time on the floor in the 2021 postseason.
So clearly, despite what the naysayers will pick at, Simmons is an excellent point guard. But with so many legitimate questions surrounding the Brooklyn Nets in 2022-23, we didn’t feel comfortable ranking him higher than this.
Simmons can still have a huge impact on this Nets team. He can be helpful when playing next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but there also isn’t a guarantee that Durant or Irving will be on the roster by opening night. Either way, the Simmons situation will be something to really look at when Brooklyn opens up in the 2022-23 season.
This post originally appeared on Nets Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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