After he finally left the Philadelphia 76ers in the blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to the Sixers, Ben Simmons has found a new home in Brooklyn, and many people are excited to see what he’ll bring to Barclays Center this season.
The Australian point guard will join forces with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, trying to have a better tenure in Brooklyn than James Harden. During his introductory press conference, Simmons issued a warning to the rest of the league, saying it would be scary when he steps on the court again.
“I think it’s going to be scary [when I play with Kyrie and KD]. Having those guys playing alongside me, multiple different weapons on the floor, at the pace we want to play, it’s gonna be unreal.”
He wasn’t the only one excited about this new chapter in his career. Much has been said about whether he can make 3-pointers or not, but not everybody is concerned about that. Steve Nash dismissed those things, saying he’s not worried about Ben shooting 3s.
Moreover, Dwyane Wade also said that as long as he does what he does best, the Nets will have a real chance at the 2022 NBA championship. Talking on Tuesday’s edition of NBA on TNT, the Miami Heat legend made it clear that Simmons doesn’t need to become a shooter to impact the Nets.
“Ben can rebound, both offensively and defensively. Ben can defend the other team’s best player, one through 5, he has the size. Ben can get his teammates involved in the game. I think we got the scenario of that, Ben needs to start shooting jumpers. Yes. Ben needs to evolve in the game. But right now, Ben needs to do what Ben do, to the best to his abilities. If he do what he do at the max, it doesn’t matter about the jump shooting. I won a championship with Shaq, he did what he did at the max, we could make it up for the free throw misses.”
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Wade has a solid point there. Ben Simmons can orchestrate the offense and do more things than simply shoot 3s. He has many tools to impact the game, and playing alongside two superstars like Kyrie and Durant will surely help him. He’s not expected to become the No. 1 option for Brooklyn, and that pressure will be off his shoulders.
Doing the work, creating good looks for Irving and Durant is what he needs to do and Ben is ready to carry out the task.
