By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The former No.1 NBA draft pick Ben Simmons opened up to The Sydney Morning Herald and talked about a rough year he had, his fallout with the Philadelphia 76ers but also about his future with the Australian national team.
“I had a terrible year. I know how to handle my emotions and what I need to be doing to get on track. If I’m worried or sad or frustrated or angry, I feel like I’m better able to deal with that now. It took time, but I’m at peace with who I am and what’s going on around me. I know what my priorities are, and what I need to do every day. Besides that, I just want to be me”, Simmons said even before his unimpressive start with the Brooklyn Nets, as the interview was conducted in September.
After the 76ers’ Game 7 loss in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Simmons demanded a trade and refused to play for the team from Pennsylvania.
He ended up with the Nets, which are going through the storm after a 3-6 start to the new season, the firing of head coach Steve Nash and the Kyrie Irving saga. His performances didn’t help. He was heavily critiqued after scoring 6,2 points, with 7,3 assists, and 6,5 rebounds on average in his first six games with Brooklyn, so the rumors started about another possible trade.
Apart from his shooting woes, and the way he ended his stay in Philadelphia, Simmons was also criticized for not playing for the Australian national team since he was drafted in 2016.
“I was in the middle of the sh*t. Of course, I wanted to go out there and play with Dante Exum and Joe Ingles, and Patty Mills – those are my guys. But there’s only so much to say: I was in a bad place, and I didn’t play. Do I want to play for Australia? One hundred percent. Will I one day? One hundred percent. I’m going to the Olympics. It’s not a question – it’s a dream of mine. But I’m also not going to let people tell me when and how I do things”, Ben Simmons announced his intention to be a part of the Boomers squad in Paris 2024.