“I don’t need him to shoot, I am not asking for it,” says Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash on Ben Simmons

The Brooklyn Nets are a very exciting franchise especially after what transpired in the offseason. They at first looked like trading off their star players and going into rebuilding but then they managed to convince both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to run it back again. Also with ben Simmons getting fitter, Brooklyn Nets head coach has plenty of options to choose from. 

Simmons will add flexibility with his defensive abilities that he mainly focuses on and can also be the small ball center for the nets if needed. Recently coach Steve nash shared that Simmons’ primary duty is not to shoot the ball. But if he finds himself in space then he has not problem but Nash sees him as more of a playmaker as they already have elite scorer like Kyrie and Durant in their ranks.

Another factor is that the former Sixers guard has not played since the 2021 Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. Simmons was blamed for that loss and criticized by a lot of people for his poor percentage from the perimeter shots. 

The nets returned to the training camp as the season is knocking at the door. This is where Steve Nash made things absolutely clear about the former Sixers star. He does not want him to take the shots, he surely has people in the team who can do that job. Nash wants to hand the role of playmaking to the Australian. 

“I don’t need him to shoot it, I’m not asking him to shoot it. If he’s open and he wants to shoot it, I’m not going to yank him out of the game, but that’s not what he does,” Nash shared. 

He then went onto highlight how the big Australian is a fantastic playmaker and can be the trump card for them this season. “Ben is an incredible playmaker, he plays point guard, he’s incredible in transition, he’s a good screener, he’s good playing out of the half role or attacking the rim. Those are the things we need from Ben and that’s where he’s special at,” Nash explained. 

The Brooklyn Nets suffered from injuries and other off the field issues last season and eventually their season ended when they were swept by the finals bound Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. It was not an ideal performance from the Nets and they would surely want to do a lot better in the coming season. 

Going by the hype and the team composition, the Brooklyn Nets are once again one of the contenders for the NBA Championship. But given the problems that happened during the offseason, the hype around them is a little subdued.