The way Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash sees it, it does not matter if Ben Simmons ever takes a shot for his team because he does so many other things well.
Two-time NBA All-Defensive First Teamer Simmons is set to make his debut for the Nets this season after he missed all last season while waiting for a trade out of Philadelphia and then dealing with rehab from back surgery as well as ongoing mental health issues.
"Very unique," Nash said of Simmons after the second full practice of training camp on Wednesday. "That's what makes Ben great.
"That's why I don't care if he ever shoots a jump shot for the Brooklyn Nets. He's welcome to, but that is not what makes him special and not what we need. He's a great complement to our team, and he's an incredible basketball player because of his versatility."
The Nets have the luxury of having two standout scorers on their roster in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, which should allow Simmons to play a more wide-ranging role.
"I think they'll have a certain element of cohesion out of the gates," Nash said of his star trio. "Because they're all really good basketball players, but hopefully it's something that evolves. And they can continue to find ways to make each other better. I think that's the beauty, that they actually fit really well together, but it may take time."
With Durant and Irving handling the bulk of the offense, Simmons will be free to focus on defense and rebounding while creating open looks for his star teammates.
"You're playing with some great NBA players, some of the greatest," Simmons said. "So, for me, it's just playing alongside them, figuring out where they want their shots, how they move, different spots on the floor where I need to be. It's just timing."
Simmons' career 8.1 rebounds per game should benefit the Nets, who lost one of the league's best rebounding guards when James Harden was dealt to the 76ers.
"He helps us for sure defensively, rebounding," Nash said. "And not only the talent he has, but also just size. Overall team size is something we struggled with."
Nash said he wouldn't have a problem giving the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Simmons minutes at centre when the situation calls for it.
"If he's the 'lone big,' that's a role we would definitely play him at," he said. "But he's also our playmaker and point guard."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash said there are no lingering ill effects from Kevin Durant’s trade request or his demand that Nash be fired this summer.
Nash told reporters Tuesday that he met with Durant last month to "move forward" and "clear the air".
"We're fine," Nash said after the Nets' first practice of the season. "We're good. Ever since we talked, it's been like nothing's changed. I have a long history with Kevin. I love the guy. Families have issues. We had a moment and it's behind us. That's what happens. It's a common situation in the league.
"We all were hurting, seething, to go through what we went through last year, not being able to overcome all that adversity. Sometimes you lose perspective because you expect to win, but the reality is we were able to talk and discuss what we can improve on from last year, and also keep perspective. We went through a ton of stuff."
Durant shook the NBA this offseason when he demanded to be traded, citing the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat as his preferred destinations.
When it became clear that an ideal trade was not imminent, Durant met with Nets owner Joe Tsai and reportedly said he was willing to remain in Brooklyn if Nash and general manager Sean Marks were replaced.
Nash pushed back Tuesday that Durant ever demanded a coaching change.
"I never thought that was 100 percent," Nash said. "There was a lot of things. It's not black and white like that, so there was a lot of factors. A lot of things behind the scenes.
"A lot of things reported are not accurate. A lot of things that are reported are not 100 percent accurate. So you get fragmented bits of truth. You get things that are flat out not true. It happens... so I never really get caught up in all that stuff.
"I'm going to hear it from Kevin when the time is right. I'm going to talk to Sean, I'm going to talk to all the parties involved. So you just work through it step by step. You don't overreact. We stay calm and work on communication and facts and here we are."
One of the central challenges for Nash this season will be to keep his team focused on the court despite the seemingly never-ending storm of storylines surrounding the Nets.
"I think we're in a really good position to start the season," Nash said. "And regardless of the way everyone wants to talk about drama all the time, we've been through this. I played in the league for 17, 18 years… It does not impact me the way maybe it impacts people on the street or in the media, so it was never really as a big a deal to me.
"I always thought we'd have our moment, we'd discuss it and we would choose a course and we're fortunate to all be in the gym working together again and excited. I think the energy's been outstanding."
Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is still unable to run or jump without pain in his surgically repaired left knee and will undergo a second arthroscopic surgery, ESPN reported Tuesday.
His discomfort remains nearly 10 months on from his initial injury back in January, with Ball telling the media it is nothing like he has ever experienced before. The operation is scheduled for Wednesday.
"There was a point where we would warm up and stuff, and I would go through certain days and it would be fine," Ball told reporters Tuesday. "Then whenever I got to real basketball activities, I just couldn't do it.
"Unfortunately, this is what's at hand and has to be dealt with. We feel like surgery, again, is the best option."
The Bulls said that they will reevaluate Ball in four to six weeks, but neither the team nor Ball himself was willing to put a timeline on the point guard’s return from a third career surgery on his left knee.
"For me, this will be my third surgery, so this time around I really don't want to rush anything," Ball said.
Ball’s continued pain and stunted recovery have been both a surprise and a mystery to his medical team as he continues to struggle with some day-to-day activities, including walking up stairs.
"From my understanding they're going in there to see what it is, because it's not necessarily showing up on the MRI," Ball said. "It's clear that there's something there that's not right, so they're going to go in, look at it, and whatever needs to be done is going to be done.
"I've never felt pain like this or was able to ramp up a little bit but never fully, so definitely a unique situation. The doctors and the Bulls, we're all trying to figure out what it is."
Despite the considerable setback, Ball does not believe the injury will sideline him for the entire season.
"That's not in my mind right now, but that would be the worst-case scenario," Ball said. "I'm at a point now where I know I can't get back out there until I'm comfortable playing and can actually play. So whenever that day comes, that's when I'll have the jersey back on."
The news comes as the Bulls practiced for the first time in preparation for the 2022-23 season. Chicago hopes to improve on last season when they started hot but ended up as the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed and losing their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
Rob Pelinka says the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to trade their first-round picks if they have an opportunity to strengthen the roster and provide support for LeBron James.
Four-time NBA MVP James signed a new contract with the Lakers worth a whopping $97.1million last month.
Los Angeles failed to make the playoffs last season and Darvin Ham has been charged with the task of turning their fortunes around, having replaced Frank Vogel as head coach.
Lakers general manager Pelinka says they are prepared to give up picks if it means they can add quality to the ranks.
He said during a media day: "One thing that needs to be made clear is, there was a lot of speculation, will the Lakers trade their picks? Will they not trade their picks?
"Let me be abundantly clear: we have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game on our team. He committed to us with a long-term contract, a three-year contract.
"So of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals that give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organisation. That's got to be a bilateral commitment, and it's there."
There has been talk that Russell Westbrook could be traded ahead of the new season, although he this week declared that he is "all-in" with the Lakers.
Pelinka said Westbrook is "a great part of our team", but gave no guarantees he will stay by stating: "If we have to continue to upgrade our roster throughout the season, we will."
The Lakers on Monday confirmed the signings of guard Dwayne Bacon and forward Matt Ryan.
Giannis Antetokounmpo believes Stephen Curry is the best player in the world after inspiring the Golden State Warriors' NBA title triumph last season.
Curry won his fourth NBA title in June at the expense of the Boston Celtics, taking the series 4-2.
Superstar guard Curry won the NBA Finals MVP after averaging 31.2 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the six games.
The 34-year-old became only the seventh player to win at least four NBA titles and win two MVP awards, a feat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan have also achieved.
Antetokounmpo claimed the title and was Finals MVP for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, but says Curry is now the best on the planet despite Nikola Jokic winning the 2021 and 2022 NBA MVP awards.
He said during a Bucks media day: "I think the best player in the world is the person that is the last man standing.
"It's the person that takes his team to the Finals, the finish line and helps them win the game. - that's how I view it. I believe the best player in the world is Steph Curry."
Antetokounmpo says no individual awards can match the feeling of winning the NBA title.
"The feeling I felt, it was a nice feeling," he said. "I got jealous of Golden State, seeing them in the parade and the ESPYs. You know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you."
Stephen Curry says he spoke to Adam Silver about Robert Sarver's punishment and is pleased with the sanctions imposed on the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner.
The NBA suspended Sarver for one year and fined him $10million after an investigation questioned 320 people over allegations about his behaviour during his 18 years with the Suns.
Sarver last week announced that he intends to sell up after he was found him to have engaged in racist and sexist conduct.
Golden State Warriors superstar Curry revealed he contacted NBA commissioner Silver about the issue and has given his backing to the outcome.
He said during a Warriors media day: "[I] got [Silver's] point of view of what decisions and, I guess, mechanisms he had to intervene and bring down a punishment that was worthy of the actions that we were all responding to and representing the league as a whole and protecting the integrity of the league and the standard that we set terms of from execs, ownership, all the way down to players.
"There should be a standard around what's tolerable and what's not."
Curry added: "I think the outcome was exactly what should have happened.
"Honestly, I thought with the punishment that was handed down, it would have dragged out a little longer, but I'm glad we got to a point where hopefully the team is up for sale sooner than later and can kind of move on knowing that's where it should be."
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