Ben Simmons is Brooklyn-bound, and it’s easy to define in basketball terms exactly what that means for the Nets.
In Simmons—acquired from Philadelphia in a blockbuster trade for James Harden—the Nets are getting an elite passer and defender, a player who made All-NBA just two years ago, a 6' 11" unicorn with point-guard skills who should fit seamlessly with their other two stars and who, at 25, is just entering his prime. No, he doesn’t shoot much or score a lot, but the Nets don’t need much help in that department.
The Nets’ new Big Three—Simmons, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving—is arguably stronger and more cohesive than the Big Three experiment they just abandoned, the one that featured Harden, lots of scoring and, well, very little defense.
