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How Aussie NBA star Ben Simmons ABANDONED the Brooklyn Nets without saying a word before must-win playoff game after the club gave him a $50million lifeline
- Simmons joined the Nets last season in a much-hyped trade with James Harden
- He did not play a single game for his new club and ultimately had back surgery
- The Aussie guard was scheduled to return in game four of their playoffs series
- Now the brutal way he brushed his new teammates has been revealed
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A leading NBA analyst has revealed how Australian star Ben Simmons abandoned his new teammates at the Brooklyn Nets in their must-win NBA post-season series against the Boston Celtics.
Simmons’ ugly exit from Philadelphia was highly publicised in 2021 before he moved to a star-studded Nets side in a complex trade that saw All-Star guard James Harden exit for the 76ers.
The blockbuster trade ended a long impasse between Simmons and the 76ers and saw him land at the Nets on a $35 million USD ($50 million AUD) contract and a star-studded roster including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Australian star Patty Mills.
Simmons (L) and Royce O’Neale of the Brooklyn Nets attend a game between the Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2022 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center
He ultimately didn’t play a single game for his new franchise, although he was scheduled to debut in the fourth game of the seven-game series against Boston.
With the Nets already down 0-3 in the series, Simmons’ impact could have potentially made an enormous difference. Instead, he didn’t play and the Nets were swept by the eventual Eastern Conference champions.
Now renowned NBA analyst Ric Bucher has revealed how Simmons not only skipped the game, but brushed his new teammates in the process.
‘They’re having a team chat before Game four, thinking he’s going to play against the Celtics, and from what I’m told, Ben just left the chat,’ Bucher told Colin Cowherd on The Herd.
‘They asked him, “Are you going to play?” Ben left the chat. Like, he didn’t even answer the question. Just left the chat.’
Simmons and Durant shake hands before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on March 10, 2022
Needless to say, Simmons’ reaction went down like a lead balloon with Nets star Kevin Durant.
‘K.D. (Kevin Durant) is like, “This is what I signed up for? This is who I’m playing with?”
Simmons cited back soreness for his absence in the post-season series and he went under the knife in March after ‘consultation with multiple back specialists’, the Nets said in a statement.
Simmons, centre, sits on the bench during the second half of Game 3 of the first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Simmons should be fit for the start of the new NBA season on October 19.
‘Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons will require three to four months of rehabilitation after undergoing back surgery, but is expected to be fully recovered to return to the court well ahead of pre-season training camp in September, sources told ESPN on Wednesday,’ he said.
Simmons watches on while is new teammates practice ahead of a playoffs game last season
The last time Simmons played an NBA action was June 2021 in the when the Sixers were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
He was in attendance for the Nets’ Summer League game against the 76ers in Vegas in July, sitting courtside with teammates, but did not train or play.