The 2022-23 NBA season is barely even two weeks old and the Brooklyn Nets have already provided a season’s worth of headlines and drama. They came into the season looking like NBA Finals contenders but have been everything other than that on and off the court.
Brooklyn is one of the most surprising teams thus far, as they are 2-6 out of the gate. Their performance defensively has been abysmal and on offense, it is a lot of standing around watching Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving go to work.
On paper, the Nets looked like they had a deep, talented roster around their two All-Stars. Ben Simmons, Royce O’Neale, Nicolas Claxton, Patty Mills, Joe Harris, Seth Curry and T.J. Warren are a nice group of role players, but nothing has clicked yet. Injuries have played a part as Curry and Warren haven’t gotten on the court yet, while chemistry and fit on the court are clunky.
Head coach Steve Nash is already being replaced as he and the franchise agreed to mutually part ways. Nash is the biggest winner here as he no longer has to deal with answering questions or interacting with Irving daily, who has caused a media storm with zero repercussions after sharing anti-semitic videos on his social media. Working toward hiring Ime Udoka, the suspended Boston Celtics head coach, to replace Nash is just adding more gas to the fire.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Ben Simmons & Brooklyn Nets Updates
Alas, Nash may not be the only person on the move. It sounds like Brooklyn is already exploring ways to shake their roster up and Simmons has been one of the players mentioned as a possible trade target.
The Nets have reportedly had cursory talks with a team in the Western Conference hoping to add another shooter to the roster. One of the players that came up in those talks was Simmons, who got back on the court this season for the first time since the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Simmons has looked very rusty, which isn’t shocking given the layoff that he had. He is leading the team with 7.3 assists per game while also grabbing 6.5 rebounds to go with 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks, but he remains hesitant to shoot the ball. Simmons is averaging only 6.2 points per game, attempting 5.7 shots.
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Brooklyn is going to struggle to find success with both him and Claxton in the starting lineup as their presence makes it much easier to defend Durant and Irving knowing there are two non-shooting threats defenses can essentially ignore offensively. Trading Simmons would certainly be extreme, as there is a lot of potential there if the coaching staff can coax it out of him.
Given his versatility defensively and elite playmaking and rebounding, the Nets would likely be making a mistake trading him this soon. He is a player, once comfortable being on the court again, that will help elevate this team in ways that Claxton never well. Making a change to the lineup and moving one of them to the bench would be smart to try before making trades.
