Ben Simmons is “locked in” ahead of his long-awaited NBA return with the Brooklyn Nets, having recently put a $28.5 million row with his former team to bed.
Simmons this week settled a grievance he filed with the Philadephia 76ers to recoup a portion of last season’s salary after he refused to suit up.
Having dealt with back surgery during the playoffs earlier this year, Simmons is expected to suit up when the Nets take the floor on October 4 for their first pre-season clash of the season.
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If Simmons takes the floor against the Miami Heat on October 4, it will have been 472 days since he last logged NBA minutes, that being during the now-infamous game seven between the 76ers and Atlanta Hawks during the 2021 NBA playoffs.
One man who shared the floor that fateful night with Simmons is sharpshooter Seth Curry, who was then traded to Brooklyn along with Simmons and big man Andre Drummond in a blockbuster deal last season.
Curry offered an insight into the Australian’s mindset, painting a picture of a star who is ready to silence some doubters.
“I’ve seen him a couple of times since the season ended and he’s been in good spirits,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“From everything I’ve seen and heard, he’s been in the gym working out hard and been locked in Brooklyn just trying to get ready for next year. That’s positive and I expect him to be at training camp.
“The year we played together in Philly, we had a great connection, did a lot of good stuff, so hopefully we’re both out there doing a lot of good stuff from next season.”
When Curry says he and Simmons “did a lot of good stuff” together when on the Sixers, that’s absolutely not a lie.
When the two men shared the court during the 2020-21 season, Philly outscored its opponents by 9.9 points per 100 possessions.
The Sixers’ offensive rating of 115.2 when Curry and Simmons were on the floor together would have ranked the team as the NBA’s third-best offense during the 2021-22 season, behind only the Utah Jazz and the Hawks.
Despite Simmons’ struggles during the 2021 post-season, the team thrived when he and Curry shared the floor together, outscoring opponents by 15.3 points per 100 possessions, with a gaudy offensive rating of 124.1. It is a duo that is clearly more than potent.
However, whether the duo are even teammates when opening night arrives in late October remains to be seen.
Curry’s frustration at the team’s predicament was evident when discussing what could potentially happen if he, Simmons, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are able to play a single minute together.
“It’s great, it makes your life easier when everybody’s out there on the floor,” he said.
“They (Durant and Irving) draw a lot of attention, but also just great being around them in practice and shooting around watching how they work on their games as two of the most skilled guys in the league.
“I try to just learn from them and pick their brains. I mean, we had one of the most talented teams in the league last year and the way the roster looks now, we should still have one of the most talented teams.
“If we can put it together, we should be able to compete.”
Despite Curry’s hopes for the quartet to remain together in Brooklyn, that appears unlikely at this stage, with Durant and Nets owner Joseph Tsai sparring with each other earlier this month.
Durant, who is locked into a four-year, $284 million deal with the Nets, is understood not to budge on his demand to be moved.
According to The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania, Durant told Tsai that it was either him or the duo of head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks who would have to leave.
Tsai made his loyalties known just hours after the story dropped on his personal Twitter account.
Durant, Simmons and Irving are far from the only stars Curry has played with, with the 31-year-old having shared locker rooms with Luka Doncic in Dallas and Damian Lillard in Portland.
With his own future up in the air as he heads into the final year of his own deal, Curry is confident that he’ll be able to make an impact wherever he lands.
“All of them do it in different ways and lead teams in different ways. They obviously have different skillsets and different games,” he said of the many star teammates he’s played alongside.
“The way I look at it, I feel like all of them just appreciate what I brought to the table. I’ve still got great relationships with all of them on and off the floor.
“As a guy in my position, as a role player, it’s your job to go in and help star players and make their lives easier. I’ve learned stuff from all of them and had good chemistry and done a lot of good stuff on the floor with them.
“I just want to keep going and keep playing hard. It’s hard to say in this league now. There’s so many deals going on, you can sign a deal and get traded the next month, so who knows.
“For me, I’m just trying to lock into this season and have fun. I would love to be in the same place for an extended period of time, but it’s not really up to me.
“I played well in Dallas and Philly, outperformed my contracts, and still got traded. That’s a part of the game.”
The 2022-23 NBA season will get underway on October 19, with the reigning champions Golden State Warriors hosting the Los Angeles Lakers, while the Boston Celtics will host the Philadelphia 76ers in the first match-up of the night.
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