Nets legend Ben Simmons is plotting NBA return

The most memorable thing about Ben Simmons‘ star-crossed stint with the Nets was all the times that Stephen A. Smith trashed him on various ESPN platforms.

(My personal favorite was the time SAS said Simmons treated basketball like he was at war in Ukraine and called him “Zoolander” in one breath.)

But the second-most memorable thing may have been all the ridiculous quotes Simmons (and unnamed sources close to Simmons) provided. Like when he vowed to dominate prior to the 2023-24 season and then played 15 games.

Simmons is back at the latter a bit. He is the focus of a new “Men’s Health” feature for some reason, taking myriad photos without a shirt and/or holding fish. The piece discusses his crazy career, all of his injuries, his foray into professional fishing, how he totally never lost confidence in himself and his apparent push to return to the NBA.

From Men’s Health:

“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” he says. “I don’t have a plan on where.” He feels like he still has a lot to offer teams (“You can’t teach 6’10” and IQ,” he says), and he’s been talking to coaches who have told him to get healthy, because if he’s healthy, he has a spot. “Maybe I’ll go back to Philly,” he says. “Miami would be nice. And not because it’s Miami—I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organization, I like the culture.”

Pat Riley and Simmons sounds incredible, no? But if that does not work, he can always go back to Philly!

The best part of the piece may have been the final few grafs, where the reporter asks if he might do anything differently as he bids for a comeback.

“Nah, I’m Ben Simmons,” he said. “I just gotta keep doing what Ben Simmons wants to do.”

The “First Take” production team just got aroused en masse.