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NBA and Eastern Conference powerhouse the Brooklyn Nets and their newest recruit, Ben Simmons, have received some immense praise from head coach Steve Nash.
Speaking to reporters in Miami, Steve Nash spoke about the acquisition of Ben Simmons by the Brooklyn Nets front office and took the opportunity to laud the 25 year old's basketball prowess.
"Ben does 1,000 things on the basketball court, and shooting is not one that I'm dying to see. He is an amazing basketball player, and that's without shooting the ball."
Nash further went on to call Simmons an "All-Star basketball player" who has "incredible potential to affect games with all the other things he does."
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"So to me, there’s not really a conversation there: If he gets better at shooting, great; but he’s an All-Star basketball player and has incredible potential to affect games with all the other things he does."
Since being selected as the No.1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Australian's lack of shooting has been emphasized and scrutinized a lot by folks in the media over the years. While the rest of the league remains well aware that this is the most glaring weakness in Simmons' game. In turn, teams are set up with the express purpose of highlighting this fact.
Can Ben Simmons help the Nets without shooting the ball?
Ben Simmons' biggest impediment continues to be his lack of shooting, as was demonstrated in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks.
The 76ers' postseason came to a disappointing end against Trae Young and co., who triumphed in a seven-game series. With Simmons shouldering a lot of the blame in the aftermath of game seven, in which he put up just five points.
But make no mistake about it, whether Simmons shoots the ball or not, he is still an All-Star caliber player and has been largely touted as the second coming off LeBron James. If he can develop a solid jumper, he has the basketball IQ and on-court vision that very few in the league possess to be almost unguardable at times.
He is also arguably one of the best defensive players in the league and can seamlessly guard all five positions with relative ease. Simmons takes full advantage of his size and wingspan, while also possessing the lateral quickness to stay with the attackers. The Nets are ranked 21st in the league in terms of defensive rating, and the consensus is that Simmons can almost single-handedly improve that.
Teaming up with the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Simmons could act as the floor general, orchestrating the offense from the power forward position. Or perhaps even at center, something he would have never had the opportunity to do with the 76ers thanks to the presence of Joel Embiid.
Simmons' obvious upside in terms of playmaking will allow coach Nash to surround the youngster with bonafide sharpshooters like Seth Curry and Joe Harris. This would render Simmons' inability to shoot the ball as a non-factor, due to the elite level of marksmanship around him.
The overwhelming sentiment around the league is that the Brooklyn Nets won this trade with the acquisition of Ben Simmons, while simultaneously weakening their conference rivals the Philadelphia 76ers.
