how do y'all like the thumbnail?

I mean he’ll never match the greatness of Raymond Felton but he can definitely turn it around and have a good career

I never noticed he stopped holding the basketball that's crazy

Seeing how mikal talked about him on the Paul George podcast I think that Ben could genuinely have a comeback season especially now it seems like he has an actual support system around him

Im rooting for him but it’s up to him he has the talent but at the end of the day it’s up to him whether he has the motivation and work ethic to make it back

Am I weird for being one of the only people still rooting for Ben? I still feel he can be an impactful player and even at the allstar level he was, I just think people are overreacting about his inability score which I don’t think he needs to do, 15 8 8 and elite defense is perfect if the team that banks on him fills in the holes he has. Idk man feel like the hate got really overblown.

Ben is coming back with a vengeance, he's going to come back with his Allstar form

If Fultz can turn things around anything is possible

Keep it up Rusty!!

Keep the basketball, good throw back Liked the video just for that lol

Thank you Rudy for sparing us some the offense clips

I disagree with you saying he’s going to be in the “Least pressured environment” in Brooklyn. I’d argue he will have the most pressure he’s ever had. Everyone is going to be tuned in to see if he fails because as you said, this is really his last chance.

Hopefully he can come back from his back injury and become a elite player again

Speaking of things of the past , I still can't believe this man ranked Damian Lillard higher thanTony Parker all time 💀

Listening to you rant about the Ben Simmons slander reminds me of what it feels like to me when you go too hard on the bulls. If everyone stays healthy I think we got a good shot of being a solid team. All we needed was a true PG to start winning and hopefully Jevon Carter fills that role.

I thought I was the only believer in Ben Simmons left. With this roster I could see him being a super impactful player. Even if he only averages ~10ppg, he's always been elite at creating efficient shots for his teammates (iirc the sixers shot 3 percentage points better on threes with him on the floor) and the Nets need exactly that, to say nothing of being able to defend 1-5 pretty well.

hopefully he worked on his free throws so he wont be afraid of getting fouled and he can be more aggressive

Ive been waiting for his comeback.

I think the hard part is the mental aspect. Cause if it’s all mental and he has to think about overcoming then that will inevitably be a mental load on him that distracts from his play making. Thereby making it harder for him to play make and go back to what he once was. I think most people who are just fans of basketball are rooting for Ben though, we want to see basketball played at its best and he was part of that. Hate having to see his career go like this.

Maybe one day he can be as great as Dragan Bender…

No better feeling than watching Rusty’s new vids in a taco bell parking lot after getting a deluxe cravings box

i disagree Rusty on the latter parts. Fultz and Lonzo show the drive to improve despite their early injuries, ugly shot mechanics, pressure. Ben on the other hand? Being a Diva and wont take accountability.

Mental health was about as much of a factor for Ben as it is for any mass shooter. It's ALWAYS a factor but never an excuse.

Always rooting for a good underdog story!

I really hope Ben can be as good as he used to be just cause the Nets have so much potential. I loved watching Ben play before and Mikal is one of my favourite players. I’m not too concerned if he doesn’t improve though because him being basically untradeable is almost beneficial to the Nets. His contract is up the same season Giannis could opt out of his player option. If the Bucks prove they can’t be successful with their current roster, there’s a chance he could leave and personally, I would love to see Giannis in Brooklyn. Him, Mikal, Cam Johnson, and Nic Claxton could be insane together. They only need a playmaker from there

Can he turn his career around? No, unless he works on FT and gets used more as a PF(Draymond role). As a PG absolutely not.

he'll be good this season, might be great next season, and then another MAX contract and back to the mental issues.

It’s all up to him. The league can’t gift him greatness or being good.

As a nets fan, there was a rumor in the offseason he was gonna be released and i wasnt even mad tbh, but now that it is almost guaranteed Simmons will be playing for the Nets, i just hope he can return to his old self at the very worst.

Yes!!!!! And he will. All star season revenge tour from Big Ben incoming!!!

so much potential

Don't call it a comeback, he's been here for years! He's rocking his peers but can't shoot for fear!

Did you guys get tricked by the off-season workout videos again?

Mental health aside, there were early warning signs since his draft evaluation that Ben puts in lackluster effort and checks out when it’s not about him. Any mental issues Simmons had later in his career makes it worse to address.

Probably not, best case scenario he's a high level role player.

Major bounce back season incoming. He’s gonna be great. That nets squads gonna be fun to watch on both ends of the court.

I genuinely think he could. Now I don’t know if he’ll be all nba again, but he could definitely go back to averaging around 15ppg. He showed he still has his playmaking, rebounding, and his defense is still good, not as great as it once was but he’s still a positive. If he’s actually healthy it’s just up to his mentality at this point but I’d want to have faith in him.

Well said The only thing that I was saying is that he could return to All Star forum because it's only eight points more and two rebounds and two assists more for his career average with a healthy body, he's capable of eight points more

he already did. He turns his career from multiple allstar NBA legend levels, to a joke that no NBA fans would ever forget.

He just needs to get in the correct headspace. And being on a team where there's no pressure and he's basically going to be ignored sounds perfect.

I’ll give it one more year. I think he’s mentally weak but I’m willing to assume injury had at least a bit to do with him sucking. And if he even can just gain enough confidence to shoot the ball once in a while, regardless of whether it goes in or not, he’ll have leveled up big time.

it’s never too late to turn it around, he just has to want it

tbh i always think abt ben simmons being player that i hate but im also rready to love his game if he comes back

To revise Rusty statement What a peak Ben Simmons did do

If Ben Simmons can put it together and Jalen Wilson becomes the steal of the 2023 draft, the Nets rebuild is going to be quick.

People have been asking this question every year. And nothing has changed. You say people are too quick to write off players, but people have had his entire career to form an opinion

I think the Spurs should try and package something centered around Tre Jones and acquire Ben Simmons if both show little improvement. A playmaking, slashing, defensive 4 next to Wemby, Vassell, and Johnson would be stellar.

Can he? yes. Will he? Probably not. The dude just hates basketball. He doesn't wanna improve he doesn't wanna put in the work. Plain as that

When Simmons starts shooting right handed I will believe that he can turn things around.

The biggest question is what the spacing looks like on the floor. Ben is no threat from outside of 10 feet most of the time. The issue is in the paint where you have him and Claxton with no good interior spacing. Ben not being able to hit 30% or more from jumpers/threes will hurt this team when it comes to the playoffs. Can’t see them beating BOS, PHI, MIL, or MIA if they continue w this lineup. I’d be interested to see if you could pick up a true point guard and run Ben off the bench for defense and transition baskets.

Bring the ball back, it’s like having a superhero without a sidekick

Defensively, the Nets look amazing. Even outside of Ben, Bridges, and Claxton.

I mean let’s not act like he just “decided not to play basketball”. He literally got butthurt after Doc and Joel were just in complete shock that he was that bad against the fucking Hawks. He quit the entire organization not just basketball. Then he magically got hurt I guess because crying to sleep on a million dollar bed is just to hard to handle..

Eating a burger with no honey mustard

I guess you could say the holding the basketball gimmick got "rusty" 🥁

Ben Simmons could turn it around and win a 6th man of the year or most improved player someday but I’ll believe it when I see it

i’m not even a nets fan but a good simmons- Mikal - CJ - DFS - Claxton starting lineup moves me

he needs to be in the right system, he needs to play the 5 at offense and defense but also have the duties of being the primary playmaker.

I feel like to truly get the best out of ben on offense you need a big next to him who can shoot. As of rn I'm not sure if u can expect your defense to be average if you're running ben as the lone big guy with his defense not being what is usually is. The fit of him and Claxton is really clunky especially if ben isnt looking to shoot in the paint

If ben comes back in form, they be a legit playoff team and with the assets they got from the mavs and suns, they can trade for a real superstar (dame if he's still available, embiid if he asks out, one of pg and kawhi or even demar derozan and zach lavine when those teams blow it up) to lead the offense and maybe even become a contender.

Long answer: No

Could he? Yes. Will he? No.

He has so much potential it’s annoying

Hopefully he starts shooting with his right hand which he uses for literally everything else

I’m from Philadelphia and my issue with him claiming mental health is the timing of when he came out with that. The Eagles just had one of their best offensive linemen out for a couple weeks and no one knew why. He came out and said he had been having mental health issues and that’s why he was out. LESS THAN A WEEK LATER, after using almost any other excuse up to that point, Ben claimed mental health issues. The timing was very very poor. It looked like he saw how well it went for this other guy and decided to use this as a new excuse. That being said, he definitely now has serious mental issues.

It's Joever

I have big faith in him. With a nearly „old“ Ben. Nets will be 4-5th seed i think This mf can shock the league

Ben avg 17 ppg in philly as the 4th option without a jumpshot. Along side Embid who occupies the paint quite often. Which obviously makes it difficult for Ben to be himself. I can’t help but wonder what Ben would look like on a team that has a stretch big like Brook Lopez, Myles Turner, Karl Towns or Kristaps P 🧐🤔

i think he could but his best days are definitely behind him imo

I mean if he did an actual 360 spin I think he has a shot

Watch Ben def highlights from last year

Watching guys like Pat bev and Alex Caruso absolutely maximize their limited physical abilities as a bulls fan makes me that much more frustrated watching Ben Simmons

We at the completely baseless Ben Simmons hype portion of the offseason already?

I would love for him to get it all together after all media, except you, piled on Ben Simons.

I'm always holding on to hope for Ben. Hopefully the back is healed and he's ready

I mean call me crazy but if Ben was himself during this years playoffs, Philly probably goes home round 1 😶‍🌫️

Ben Simmons could absolutely turn his career around, but he won’t

He could absolutely turn it around the question should be will he.

Could he yes...will he probably not.

Just saw the title, and had to say: no

He needs a coach that can beat him into shape he needs a new mindset instead of crying all the time

If he’s going to continue to not shoot the ball he needs to at least focus on his free throw shooting

I dunno, I guess I find this kind of discussion wholly uninteresting. I don’t mean any kind of sports hypothetical, but specifically questions of the form, “X has been this way for a while, will this be the year when X is no longer that way?” I suppose my standing view on these questions is to assume X will continue to be that way until they aren’t, which, again, is not an interesting take.

No. There’s no cure for IDGAF

Anything is possible but I'm worried about his personality. Hes not good at dealing with negativity and his carrer keeps getting more and more negative. How is someone who's not good at dealing with pressure going to dig out of a pressure hole that he dug...

Do y’all think he can, all jokes aside?

So what happens if he has excuses next year?

Yes. He's 6'9 dam. I'd be better than MJ I'd be the goat if I was 6'9! Ben got the talent and size just gotta have the same mentality and drive.

He totally could, but I don't think he will, or even wants to...

He can, he just needs a therapist

Ben doesn’t need to be an amazing offensive player. Take a page out of Draymond green book. Focus on defense, playmaking & the overall impact

At this point no he doesn’t care enough to even be what he was let alone get better

I think he’ll get 15 9and 7next year, if he’s healthy as they say he is

Why did this even get made? And why did I click on it?

idk rusty i believe in him too but mvp contender might be a bit of a stretch

This is comical! Ben is my favorite player so I’m biased but let’s be honest; Ben even at his best so far wasn’t putting up mind blowing stats. 16/8/8 while playing great defense isn’t that hard to reach (pause).

Nope! That was a quick video

If he has confidence issues, first thing he needs to do is get off social media and turn off the tv. Focus on staying healthy and his defense, playmaking and athleticism. Once all that is back, maybe we can think about some jumpshots. Oh, and it would be nice if he became a really good rebounder.

Already been 3 years he's been a bum lol. Its too late for him. Even if he miraculously averages 14/7/7, still a tarnished legacy.

no ❤