Nets struggling to integrate Ben Simmons: ‘The challenges are ahead of us’

Ben Simmons minutes are a depreciating asset.

He played 27 minutes against the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 7, 20 minutes against the Bulls on Feb. 9, 16 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 11 and just 13 minutes in Brooklyn’s loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Simmons has totaled just 16 points over the course of those games, an average of just four points, four assists and 4.5 rebounds during this stretch.

He has fallen out of the starting lineup in favor of more offensively capable newcomers and routinely watches closing fourth-quarter minutes from the bench.

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn maintains that with Simmons, it’s no different from any other player on the roster: He wants Simmons to “give everything, every ounce, every single game.”

The issues, of course, are rooted deeper.

Simmons was once the perfect fit for a team with two superstar scorers. Now on a team devoid of scoring, he has become a liability. He is uninterested in looking for his own shot and disappears offensively when he passes the ball, except for the times when he sets a screen for a teammate.

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That has been the extent of the impact coming from Brooklyn’s $35M man — who is on the hook for $77M more over the next two seasons.

And on a team that shuttled out Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets need scoring more than ever. With Simmons on the floor, however, the Nets have a non-scorer who also subtracts from the team in other areas.

”It’s gonna be some work that we have to do because you just take a look at what the lineups could potentially look like,” Vaughn said postgame. “You put another big next to Ben, then you’ve gotta figure out what the spacing is around him. Then if you put another playmaker next to Ben, then you’ve gotta figure out what Ben looks like without the basketball. Then if you go small with Ben, then you’ve gotta figure out can you rebound enough with him?

“So the challenges are ahead of us. We’ll look ‘em head on. We’ll figure it out. We have the personnel to figure it out. Whether it is me mixing and matching throughout different pieces of the game and allow him to have a group and run with a group. That part we’ll figure out, but you see the challenges that lie ahead.”

Before Simmons arrived in Brooklyn as part of last season’s blockbuster James Harden trade, he started in all 275 games he appeared in during his four-year stretch with the 76ers.

Now with the Nets, Simmons’ role has changed. He has come off the bench in each of the Nets’ last three games and eight of the 41 games he has played this season. He was the third player off the bench against the Knicks on Monday behind sharpshooter Joe Harris and reserve big man Day’Ron Sharpe.

Simmons’ bench role could span the remainder of the season for a Nets team that has eight players who have been longtime starters for different teams this season.

Simmons said Monday morning after Nets shootaround he has “no idea” what his role will be moving forward with this new-look team.

“Everything’s been changing all year, so it’s hard to really understand what’s going on, but hopefully we find some rhythm and consistency,” he said. “It’s different. It’s a different experience [coming off the bench]. So whatever the team needs from us to win, I’m willing to do that.”

After playing just 13 minutes against the Knicks on Monday, Simmons was not available to take questions postgame.

”The rebounding piece we’re always concerned about, so didn’t want Ben to be the lone big out there,” Vaughn said. “We tried him with another big. I didn’t like that rhythm of the game because we weren’t scoring enough at that time. So a lot of different problems thrown at you in the course of the game. You try to figure them out.”

Simmons wants to be on the floor. He wants to help his team in ways he can’t when he’s on the bench cheering from the sidelines. The truth of the matter is the Nets now have several defenders and need to find offense, an area Simmons does not impact outside of playmaking for shooters and setting screens.

Simmons doesn’t know if he’ll be in the team’s fourth-quarter or closing rotations. It’s unclear if he’ll be a fixture in the rotation or the NBA’s highest-paid role player.

”I think it’s a little frustrating trying to find some rhythm and consistency, but that’s what it is at this point right now,” he said. “Guys have been in and out due to injuries, trades, so there’s been a lot of different things that play factors into it. Hopefully now we get a little bit of a stretch where we can find some rhythm and consistency.”