Since there was an NBA draft, there have been NBA draft
busts. Many gamers who starred in school (or highschool) and had been seen as
franchise saviors ended up flaming out — and generally spectacularly. Typically,
this happens for various causes, together with accidents, a poor match or an incapability to deal with the stress. Hardly ever, nonetheless, do all three of those
issues have an effect on one participant. However that’s precisely what occurred with Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons.
When Simmons was drafted No. 1 total by the 76ers in 2016,
he arrived in Philadelphia with a lot fanfare. Coming off a stellar
season at LSU, the crew envisioned paring him with Joel Embiid to create
maybe the most effective tandem within the league.
For a few seasons, issues regarded promising. After
lacking the whole 2016-2017 season with an damage, Simmons performed in all however
4 regular-season video games over the subsequent two years and helped lead the Sixers to
two convention semifinals. It didn’t take lengthy, nonetheless, for cracks to start out
to indicate.
Over the subsequent two seasons, Simmons missed vital time with accidents. Then, after the 2021 postseason, he shouldered a lot of the blame for the Sixers early exit. What adopted was a soap opera of sorts, with Simmons saying he wasn’t proper bodily or
mentally and finally forcing a commerce to Brooklyn.
With the Nets, Simmons was given one thing not all gamers in
his state of affairs get: a do-over. At age 26, this once-promising potential star
might show the naysayers incorrect by displaying why he was worthy of being that prime
draft choose all these years in the past. To date, that hasn’t occurred.
In two-plus seasons in Brooklyn, Simmons has performed a complete
of 57 video games, averaging 6.7 factors and 6.7 rebounds when wholesome — properly under what he did in
Philly. As has been the principle difficulty all through his profession, Simmons simply hasn’t been in a position to keep
wholesome with the Nets, regularly struggling knee and again accidents or reaggravating previous illnesses.
Now, with one other season on the horizon, Simmons — who says he’s absolutely wholesome — is as soon as once more getting down to remind those that he belongs on an NBA courtroom.
“I feel individuals neglect me as a participant when I’m wholesome. I can play basketball,” Simmons said to reporters.
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez could not agree extra.
“A wholesome Ben Simmons is a really, very, very, excellent basketball participant,” Fernandez said. “Three-time All-Star. And that is what we obtained proper now. We
have a wholesome Ben that has been working actually exhausting the entire summer time. He is
executed a fantastic job getting his physique able to play and I am very excited now to see
some extent guard on the courtroom… We wish to play quick, and no one higher than him
to rebound, push, throw the ball forward.”
The
2024-2025 season will mark the ultimate 12 months of Simmons’ present contract. If he doesn’t
play properly — or can’t play in any respect — he might not get one other one. He may go
down as one of many greatest draft flops in current historical past.
