The Brooklyn Nets can take several avenues during the 2023-24 NBA season as they’ve got several win-now pieces on the roster but not enough collective talent to compete with the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
The Nets have a star in Mikal Bridges, but outside of him are just quality role players that could fetch a decent asset or two if the front office ever decides to go in on a rebuild.
Brooklyn managed to make the postseason last year with their wing-heavy team, though it was clear in their first-round loss that they’re missing a couple of pieces to be considered a contender.
For years, the Nets have been waiting on Ben Simmons as he has dealt with several injuries over the years though this training camp he has reportedly looked healthy.
The former number-one overall pick has plenty of doubters given what’s occurred with him over the past few years and will need to earn the trust of Brooklyn fans back.
However, Dorian Finney-Smith has noted that Simmons is looking like one of the quickest players on the floor for them right now via Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.
“He’s bouncing on his toes. He’s back to being the top two, top three fastest person on our team, and he’s 6’10″… We’ve just gotta keep up with his pace,” Finney-Smith said.
"He's bouncing on his toes. He’s back to being the top two, top three fastest person on our team, and he’s 6'10"… We've just gotta keep up with his pace."
Dorian Finney-Smith says Ben Simmons is back to being the 2nd or 3rd fastest person on the team 🗣
(via @erikslater_) pic.twitter.com/hcP3XIWdjR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 6, 2023
Simmons has the physique and talent to still be a productive NBA player and Finney-Smith seems to suggest that he’s going to have a bounce-back year.
At his size, Simmons makes for a mismatch in transition and can be a quality playmaker with the basketball so it’ll be interesting to see how much the Nets lean into that.
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