NEW YORK — Nets coach Steve Nash says All-Star forward Ben Simmons doesn’t need to shoot jump shots to be effective on the court.
“I’m not one of those people who thinks Ben has to shoot the ball,” he said. “I don’t. He’s a special, special player without taking any jump shots. There’s other solutions for that. There’s so many things he brings to the table and our group. [Shooting] is not what he brings to the table for us.”
Nash said Simmons looks good through three days of training camp and that “he’s on his way back to his best.” He said shooting is the last thing a team with two Hall of Fame scorers and a newfound abundance of spacing needs from Simmons.
“To me, Ben is an incredible playmaker, he plays point guard, he’s incredible in transition, he’s a good screener, he’s playing out of the half roll and attacking the rim,” Nash said. “Those are the things we need from him”
Birthday boy
For Kevin Durant’s 34th birthday, the Nets welcomed him with a cake — and a singing rookie.
The singing rookie has become an NBA tradition of sorts, with the undrafted Alondes “ManMan” Williams having the honor of publicly — and phonetically — wishing the two-time MVP and team captain a happy birthday.
“It was awful,” Nash said of Williams’ singing.
For Durant’s birthday, however, some members of the team found themselves in a conundrum. Durant signed a four-year, $198M contract extension last year and will tally just short of $500M in career earnings when his current deal expires.
What does a proper birthday gift look like for one of the highest-earning basketball players in league history?
“I gave him a light practice. Save the legs,” Nash said. “What do you get someone who has everything?”
Kyrie Irving and Durant have a relationship as best friends, but Irving said he hasn’t yet gotten him a present.
“We’ll see. Didn’t get him a gift,” Irving said. “The guy has a lot. Humble dude. So I’m trying to make sure it’s intentional from the heart.”
Nash said he isn’t adding to Durant’s collection of Rolex watches, either.
“No, I think he’s got enough of those,” he said. “Don’t want to get him something he has three of.”
Patty Mills joked and said Durant’s birthday cake, which had his number “7″ on it, was missing a three because he’s getting old. He also suggested he had no interest in finding a gift for his star teammate.
“Nah. I think it’s a cake and having the young boy sing to him,” Mills said. “I think that’s enough for the guy.”
Big Mills
Mills was asked if he can think of a player other than Simmons who can play center on defense and point guard on offense.
The 6-1 Mills responded: “Other than me? I don’t know.”
Strong man Ben
Mills was also asked the one thing that’s stood out about Simmons so far through training camp.
“I think people forget just the physique that he has,” he said. “The rig on him, he’s a very solid rig when he’s healthy, but when he walks out on the floor and his presence when the ball’s in his hands. That’s probably the first thing.”
Teammate Markieff Morris also called Simmons “strong as hell” after Day 1 of training camp.
