NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins isn’t impressed with Ben Simmons this season and made a bold call to the Brooklyn Nets urging them to trade the guard ahead of the trade deadline.
Simmons has blown hot and cold this season, averaging a subpar 7.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game and shooting 57.4% from the field and just 44.6% from the free-throw line. It should be noted that these are his career-lowest numbers.
Speaking on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today,’ Perkins opined that the Nets must look to move Simmons. He further added that Brooklyn has been playing some competitive basketball, but Simmons’s hesitancy can prove to be a bane.
“If I’m the Brooklyn Nets and the trade deadline is on the way, I might consider trading Ben Simmons,” Perkins said. ” Late in the fourth quarter last night when it got close, he couldn’t play (in a 137-133 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers). You couldn’t put him on the floor.”
Simmons had a forgettable outing against his former team earlier this week. He finished with 12 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers pipped the Nets 137-133.
He has only two 20+ point performances so far this season, and his last seven games have seen him dish out 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 8.5 assists — a clear indication that he’s yet to shrug off poor form and inconsistency.
Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Jacque Vaughn Still Believes In Ben Simmons
Despite his struggles, the under-fire point guard has some solid backing from the Nets’ head coach Jacque Vaughn. The latter believed that it was his responsibility to keep Simmons motivated and help bring out his A-game.
Per the New York Post, Vaughn backed Simmons saying that he is trying his best to step up in the absence of Kevin Durant, who has been sidelined due to an MCL sprain.
“I think he is working towards becoming a guy that is consistently, on a nightly basis, impacting the basketball game on both ends of the floor.”
He found another support system in Kyrie Irving who was appreciative of Simmons’ mindset to come out on the offensive.
He just made a choice. He just made a choice to put his head down and be aggressive for our team and we need him to do that,” Irving said Wednesday. “[He] came to the bench and we were just encouraging him as we do every day. When he’s aggressive like that, being Ben Simmons, then we look very, very good and it gives us opportunities that sometimes we don’t get if he’s not.”
The Nets are one of the teams in the East primed to make the playoffs, and as they look to have Durant work his way back to the fold, they will need Simmons to be at the top of his game. Perhaps, he can prove doubters wrong as the season progresses.
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