Nets HC issues challenge to Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons continues to search for the missing link that made him a perennial All-Star during the earlier part of his career. Since missing the 2021-22 season with a back injury and holdout, he's been a shadow of the player who dominated on both sides of the floor. 

Now, as he enters the final year of his five-year, $177.2 million deal, he's running out of time to prove he can still be that same player. If he fails this season, he could struggle to find another lucrative contract in the NBA. In his first two games of the season, Simmons is averaging 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 55.6% from the field. 

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez wants to see the former All-Star approach games with a more aggressive mindset. He wants Simmons to focus on pressuring the rim, rather than driving with the intent of passing.

“I want those (shot) attempts to go up to 10 to 15 attempts per game,” Fernandez said after Friday's 116-101 loss to the Orlando Magic. “When he does that and he's very aggressive in the open court and touches the paint, good things happen… I don’t want him to drive to pass. I keep telling him I want him to drive to the rim and be aggressive...That’s what the team needs from him, and that’s what his teammates want him to do. And then, as we all know, he's an unbelievable playmaker, and then everything is gonna open up.”