Ben Simmons Is a Mystery Bubble Wrapped Inside a Fragile Enigma
Ben Simmons is one of the greatest mysteries in the NBA right now. As well as one of the best comedies. Every day there are new reports about how close Simmons is to making his Brooklyn Nets debut, yet there's no real indication he's any closer to playing for the Nets than he was to playing for the 76ers this season. On Saturday the press witnessed the weirdest flex yet from Simmons as he told the assembled media to "make sure you get this" before he executed a slam dunk.
Ben Simmons just turned toward reporters, said “Make sure you get this.” And then he dunked! pic.twitter.com/LYGZ2vou65
— Barbara Barker (@meanbarb) April 16, 2022
Reporters walked into practice, Ben Simmons turned and looked, said “Make sure you get this” and proceeded to dunk. #Nets pic.twitter.com/FvV7xKQKlr
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) April 16, 2022
Here's the actual dunk.
Ben Simmons just looked over at me and said — “Make sure you get this. Then dunked — and said “There you go.” pic.twitter.com/Kn8pE7NOlQ
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 16, 2022
Two feet. One hand. Not the most impressive thing you'll see on a basketball court from a 6-foot-11 guy. Maybe this was that trademark Australian sense of humor shining through for the first time in a long time. Or maybe he was seriously trying to show the ability to make a basket from the same spot where he famously passed up a shot that could have won the Sixers that series against the Atlanta Hawks last spring. There is literally no way to tell the source of this Stuart Larkin vibe.
So he can dunk. Does that mean he's close to returning? It doesn't appear that anyone knows. Yesterday there was a story in the New York Post with the title "NBA playoff schedule did Nets ‘huge’ Ben Simmons return favor." Here's what a source told the Post.
“The NBA did us a huge favor,” the source told The Post. “There’s like 10 days in there [to recover].”
Ten days.
Simmons last played basketball competitively on June 20, 2021, and an extra 10 days is going to make a difference? Sure. Keep in mind that on Friday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Simmons was "expected" to start practicing at some point.
ESPN Sources: After running and shooting pain-free for over a week, the Brooklyn Nets’ Ben Simmons is expected to take the next step on the court in the coming week: Beginning to go against teammates on the practice floor.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 16, 2022
Of course, he has yet to play one-on-one. Or experience any contact. And while he's running, he hasn't sprinted. As recently as three days ago Steve Nash had no clue if he would play this postseason.
Steve Nash agrees with Kevin Durant, saying that the Nets can't necessarily expect Ben Simmons to play in the near future:
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) April 14, 2022
"There's a chance Ben comes back, there's a chance Ben doesn't come back. We don't have time to lose focus on the group that's playing." pic.twitter.com/KlJcqhqShU
Hope that clears everything up.