The 2022-23 NBA season was disastrous for the Brooklyn Nets. The team went from one of the top contenders in the league to losing their star players to other groups. After the dust settled, the team was left with Ben Simmons. Having lost players like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the Australian hooper is still confident about the upcoming season.
Kevin Durant made his way to the Phoenix Suns whereas Kyrie Irving went on to join the Dallas Mavericks. Yet, Simmons believes losing two of the best star players may be a blessing in disguise.
Simmons unfazed by the departure of Irving and Kevin Durant
Ben Simmons arrived in Brooklyn with James Harden’s departure in a trade. After a scathing end to his run with the Philadelphia 76ers, fans believed a new location would do wonders for Simmons.
However, it took him some time to get into the way of things recovering from injury. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for fans and his star teammates as they called it quits and moved on to other teams.
During an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Simmons was asked to give his views on how the Nets’ last season was with all the turbulence surrounding him. Simmons said, “The NBA, you just never know what’s going to happen.”
He also went on to say, “There’s so many different things that went on last year that you just wouldn’t expect, which sucks because you want to go out and just play and compete.”
“And that is the nice thing about being in Brooklyn right now. We got great guys on the team, and guys that just want to hoop. I don’t want drama either,” added Simmons.
Will Ben Simmons have a breakout year?
After the departure of James Harden from Brooklyn, many believed that the addition of Ben Simmons would greatly complement both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, the three stars barely played together.
With Simmons recovering from injury, he made his Brooklyn Nets debut much later. By then, both stars were eyeing an exit from the franchise. Now, with both Durant and Irving out of the picture, Simmons is the sole star player on the team with other players who have star caliber.
It would be interesting to see how the Nets perform in the upcoming season. Moreover, fans would be interested to see how Simmons would perform as well. Will he have a breakout season or will his game go on to deteriorate? Let us know in the comments section below.
