The Brooklyn Nets are currently in the early stages of a rebuild as the franchise seeks to get back to the point of being able to compete for a championship. Brooklyn has changed significantly over the past few seasons and one of the players that was part of the last championship-contending team made it clear that his basketball journey is still going.
Former Nets guard Ben Simmons recently said on Instagram that he is not retiring after one of the comments was asking if him holding a football indicated a change of heart of some sort. Simmons is still one of the more interesting players in the NBA despite his diminishing impact on the court due to what he was earlier in his career along with the fact that he remains a free-agent.
Simmons, 29, spent parts of four seasons as a member of the Nets after being acquired by Brooklyn during the 2021-22 season in a trade that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers. Simmons did not play during the 2021-22 campaign as he needed back surgery, but general manager Sean Marks and the front office were hoping that he could be part of a core of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving that gets to the playoffs and beyond.
However, Brooklyn did not have much of a chance to see if the trio could work together as Durant and Irving were traded by the deadline, leaving Simmons to work with a group led by Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, and Mikal Bridges, just to name a few. Despite appearing to look more like himself, Simmons was unable to put forth the kind of production he amassed during his early days with the 76ers, leading to him getting bought out during the 2024-25 season.
Simmons caught on with the Los Angeles Clippers, but his playing time went down as the team navigated through the playoffs, signaling that Simmons’ days as a staple in a team’s rotation could be over. Despite the fact that Simmons did not have the kind of 2024-25 season he was hoping for, he appears to remain steadfast in his ability to contribute in the NBA.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Former Nets G Ben Simmons is not retiring from NBA
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
