In the absence of Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets were hoping to get more out of Ben Simmons, who has had a pretty underwhelming season so far. Besides a few flashes of talent here and there, Simmons has mostly been invisible on the Nets this season and has faded into complete obscurity on the offensive end, where he’s averaging a career-low 7.4 points per game.
There are many issues with Simmons and his game overall, but it’s his lack of accuracy from distance that has always been his biggest weakness.
Speaking on the ‘Games with Names’ podcast, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas recently spoke about Simmons and offered his own theory for why the former All-Star struggles so much with his jumper.
“I sat there and just watched him and I’m looking at his form, looking at his feet and I’m like, ‘what the hell is going on with you, why isn’t it translating to the game?’ There’s a certain type of player that just can’t shoot and it’s because of their speed,” Arenas explained. “They’re too fast! It sounds like a weird thing but they’re too fast. If you go through recent history, Jason Kidd – super fast, couldn’t shoot, you’ve got your Westbrooks, you know…They have too much speed and torque so when you try and stop and pull up, it messes up everything.”
Arenas seems to think Simmons’ shooting woes are somehow the result of moving too fast on the court. And while that could be a possible explanation, there is undoubtedly a mental aspect to it as well.
Regardless of what is causing the issues, the biggest concern for Brooklyn is how to address the problem and help Ben finally conquer the challenge that has stood in front of him for his entire career.
Ben’s Future With The Nets In Doubt Amid Underwhelming Season
The Nets are in win-now mode, which means that Simmons has to play productive basketball now in order to be useful to the team. While trade rumors have been a thing for Simmons this year, it’s unlikely that any team would be willing to take on his enormous contract.
I just don’t see any cap situation right now on another roster where exchanging for Simmons would be helpful, and that won’t change unless either Simmons plays better or another player on a huge contract plays badly enough that trading him for Simmons becomes palatable. (Although, I must admit it would be hilarious to see a Simmons-Tobias Harris challenge trade that sends him back to Philly). I mean, would you trade Simmons to Dallas for Davis Bertans and Tim Hardaway, Jr.? Those are the types of deals you’re probably looking at.
At this point, the writing is on the wall for Ben Simmons. If he didn’t have three years left on his contract, he might already be out of the NBA, and that’s saying a lot for a guy who has made three All-Star teams in his career.
Whatever the reason for his offensive struggles (whether mental or mechanical), Simmons better keep trying to unlock his game, or we could be seeing his last few months as a regular NBA rotation player.
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