By Jerry Wein
Former NBA player and current Knicks analyst Wally Szczerbiak recently ripped Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons after being asked to name the most overrated player in the league.
Szczerbiak criticized Simmons’ availability issues and lack of aggression when it comes to shooting the ball.
“Most overrated player is Ben Simmons,” he said.
“It’s not even close. The guy couldn’t even play in the playoffs two years ago. Then he was scared to get on the court all of last year. The guy is scared to shoot. He’s the first pick in the NBA draft and you can’t even get him on the basketball floor.”
During an appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski explained how Simmons is becoming a source of frustration for his teammates as they try to battle back from an awful start and off-court drama:
“The fact that Ben Simmons has been, I think he’s been a source of frustration for Kevin Durant, for others on the Brooklyn Nets so far because he has been unable, now, to stay on the floor with a knee injury. But prior to that, he has shown he is a long way away from being back to an impactful player, and that’s part of the reason why the Brooklyn Nets are at the bottom of the league defensively.
“This team was built and reconstructed around the idea that Ben Simmons would have to play a really significant role for this team. Especially on the defensive end, especially rebounding the basketball, and certainly facilitating on offense. There’s no indication Ben Simmons is close to being anywhere back to near the player he once was.”
