Simmons excited, says he has to be Nets' motor

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons couldn't clasp backmost his excitement arsenic helium prepared to play successful his archetypal regular-season NBA crippled successful astir a twelvemonth and a half.

"Ready to go," Simmons said aft Wednesday's shootaround, successful beforehand of the Nets' play opener against the New Orleans Pelicans. "Very excited. I'm looking guardant to getting retired determination and playing. We got a large radical of guys present and we're acceptable to roll."

Simmons past played successful an NBA crippled successful June 2021 erstwhile helium was connected the Philadelphia 76ers and they mislaid to the Atlanta Hawks successful the Eastern Conference semifinals. He requested a commercialized aboriginal that summertime citing intelligence wellness concerns and was yet dealt to the Nets conscionable earlier past February's commercialized deadline.

Simmons ne'er made his Brooklyn debut due to the fact that of lingering backmost issues that would aboriginal effect successful offseason backmost surgery. After truthful overmuch clip distant from the game, Simmons appears to person a caller lease connected his hoops life.

"Slowly getting backmost to who I americium and who I'm expected to be," Simmons said erstwhile asked what he's improved astir from the commencement of grooming campy until now. "Still taking a batch of time. I've lone played 4 games -- but implicit clip I'm going to get there."

Simmons appreciates the information that his caller teammates and coaches person repeatedly stood down him publically since his February arrival, and helium has enjoyed gathering up the camaraderie wrong the caller group. As helium starts his archetypal play playing alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the remainder of his caller teammates, helium looks guardant to being a unit for the caller group.

"If I'm not aggressive, this team's not going," Simmons said. "Like if I'm not pushing the ball, if I'm not uncovering my guys past those casual shots that we're getting present are not gonna happen. So I got to beryllium the motor."

Simmons is besides looking guardant to the antiaircraft code helium feels similar helium tin acceptable for the Nets passim the season.

"There's not galore guys who tin bash that," Simmons said of being a antiaircraft trendsetter, "I instrumentality that accidental erstwhile it comes to defender the champion players successful the satellite truthful it's a beauteous bully job."

At the aforesaid time, Simmons is assured that his caller squad volition beryllium capable to turn unneurotic and volition find its bushed passim the play -- particularly connected the antiaircraft extremity of the floor.

"I don't deliberation it's a substance of conscionable maine individually," Simmons said. "I deliberation I decidedly privation to travel retired present and acceptable the tone. We talk astir that a batch arsenic a team, but I consciousness similar everybody's connected the aforesaid page. So it doesn't truly substance whether it's me, Kev, Royce [O'Neale], oregon [Nic Claxton] -- I deliberation everybody has it successful them and wants to bash their occupation defensively."