NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The final days of a disappointing Brooklyn Nets season ended not with Ben Simmons on the floor with his teammates, but on the floor of his home, the pain from a back injury shooting through his lower body.
The Nets would go on to get swept by the Boston Celtics, with Simmons having back surgery shortly thereafter. While Simmons was rehabbing in the summer, Kevin Durant requested a trade 鈥� unless coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks were fired.
Nash wasn't sacked, nor was he even shaken.
鈥淜nowing Kevin as long as I have, it didn鈥檛 really bother me the way maybe everyone would think,鈥� Nash said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a part of being a competitor, that I wasn鈥檛 like overly surprised and I wasn鈥檛 even overly concerned. It was just something that I thought we would address in time and we did, and here we are and we鈥檙e looking forward.鈥�
The Nets opened training camp Tuesday with Simmons finally on the floor with his teammates, wearing a new number. But the book wasn't closed on 2021-22 just yet, not with Nash first having to revisit the tumultuous summer.
He and Durant have had a lengthy relationship: Nash was a consultant with Golden State during Durant's stint with the team. When the Hall of Fame point guard was hired as Nets coach in 2020, despite no experience, it was assumed that the superstar player had weighed in.
So it was shocking when reports surfaced that Durant wanted him out, except to Nash.
鈥淵ou know, I never thought that was 100%. There's a lot of things that it鈥檚 not black and white like that," Nash said. "So there鈥檚 a lot of factors, a lot of things behind the scenes, a lot of things that are reported are not accurate. A lot of things that are reported are not 100% accurate, so you get fragmented bits of truth, things that are flat-out not true.鈥�
Nash said he knew he would talk to Durant at some point, and they did meet in August, along with Marks and owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, where they decided to continue together. Nash wouldn't specify what was said to get Durant back on board.
鈥淏ut it was an opportunity for us to clear the air and just communicate and it was pretty straightforward,鈥� Nash said. 鈥淒idn鈥檛 take a lot of time and got to bottom of it and decided to move forward.鈥�
Durant pointed to how poorly the Nets played while he was sidelined by a knee injury in January and February as one of the reasons for his frustration, saying the team wasn't respected by its opponents. That was confirmed Tuesday by newcomer Markieff Morris, who played with Miami last season.
鈥淚 agree with what he said. They were soft,鈥� Morris said. 鈥淧oint blank. When we played against them, they were soft. Just go right in their chest. That鈥檚 what we did.鈥�
Having Simmons should help. He was an All-Defensive first-team pick in his final two seasons in Philadelphia, with the size and strength to guard all five positions.
鈥淗e鈥檚 strong as hell,鈥� Morris said.
Simmons sat out training camp last year after deciding he would no longer play in Philadelphia for mental health reasons. The 76ers eventually sent him to Brooklyn in February in a deal headlined by James Harden, but the 2016 No. 1 draft pick's back problems flared up soon after he arrived.
It turned out Simmons had a herniated disk and had a procedure to remove a portion of it in the offseason.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think people really realized where I was at,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淭hat day I was supposed to play Game 4, I woke up on the floor. Couldn鈥檛 move, could barely walk.鈥�
He does exercises to manage the back pain and also said he takes daily steps to improve his mental health.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just working on yourself and I feel like everybody has dark days, but when you鈥檙e able to address it and you鈥檙e able to work toward a place to where you need to be, that鈥檚 where I am,鈥� Simmons said.
Most importantly for the Nets, he's finally out there alongside Durant. Nobody could be certain that would happen in the summer, though Nash never believed Durant had closed the door.
鈥淚t was never really as big a deal to me,鈥� Nash said. 鈥淚 always thought we鈥檝e have our moment, discuss it and choose a course, and we鈥檙e fortunate to all be in the gym working again.鈥�
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Brian Mahoney, The Associated Press
