NBA: Shane Heal urges wantaway Ben Simmons to maximise his time left at Philadelphia 76ers
Stuck in Philadelphia until a trade can be activated, Aussie NBA superstar Ben Simmons has been urged by a Boomers legend to show ‘he isn’t scared to shoot’.
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Boomers legend Shane Heal believes there is “zero” chance that Ben Simmons remains in Philadelphia, but he has urged the Aussie superstar to make the most of his time at the 76ers and not be “scared” to shoot to maximise his trade value.
Simmons’ ugly standoff with the 76ers has taken a bizarre turn after the Melbourne-born guard turned up to training, months after declaring he never wanted to play for the franchise again and was willing to be fined millions for missing training camp and games.
The 25-year-old has been pushing for a trade since Philadelphia’s loss to Atlanta in last season’s playoffs, despite having four years and $200 million still remaining on his contract.
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At this point, the 76ers haven’t found an attractive trade package for Simmons that includes a star in return.
It means the Aussie will remain with Philadelphia until a trade can be activated.
Heal knows the situation at the 76ers will be tense for Simmons, but he wants him to look at the bigger picture for the betterment of his career.
“It is important for Ben that he shows those (shooting) qualities for himself,” Heal said.
“That he isn’t scared of being fouled or taking it to the basket and that he is going to go and play his game with confidence.
“So, when he goes to the free-throw line, he is going to knock them down.
“But I think there is zero chance that Ben is in Philly by the end of the year.
“They (the 76ers) know exactly what is going on and so does Ben. He doesn’t want to be there, and they don’t want him there.
“They are all just playing nicely to try and facilitate some sort of trade.”
76ers coach Doc Rivers is unsure if Simmons will play in Philadelphia’s season-opener against New Orleans on Thursday (AEST).
“I don’t know yet - I’m going to wait and see,” Rivers said.
“Conditioning I would say, just watching him, I thought he was in decent shape. Still not obviously game shape.”
76ers forward Tobias Harris conceded the situation surrounding Simmons had created some tension, but all parties involved are determined to be professional.
“The vibe was what it was,” Harris said.
“Was it perfect? No. But we‘re here to do a job and that’s to win basketball games. We put on our big boy pants and get on the floor and do what we do.
“We‘re grown men here. This is not middle school, seventh grade, eighth grade, ’Oh you did this to me.’
“No. It‘s, as soon as we step on that floor it’s just basketball. Honestly, that’s the way it should be.”
Rivers also spoke about Simmons’ presence at his first practice of the season and denied there was any awkward energy in the room.
“It was good,” he said. “Overall, he was in and out. It was not a great practice — not because of Ben, more because of taking a day off and having three days before the first game.
“But overall, it was good today.
“We just introduced (Simmons) like we always do when a new guy comes back, or the old guys comes back. We jokingly did it.”
Heal is expecting Simmons to perform strongly and make a statement with his career on the line.
“You hope that he has those foundations laid and it is just the game fitness that he needs,” he said.
“But I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of confidence he shoots from the free-throw line and whether he is prepared to take elbow jump shots now.
“We are going to be able to judge what sort of work he has done in the off-season based on how he comes back.”
Exum’s shock NBL lifeline after $20m NBA blow
South East Melbourne Phoenix have left the door open for Boomers star Dante Exum to fill their final roster spot in a bid to resurrect his NBA career.
Exum’s career is in limbo after he was waived by the Houston Rockets, just a month after signing a three-year non-guaranteed contract with the club.
The Aussie guard was set to earn a base value of $10.9m and 10.8m in incentives, but the Rockets released him on the eve of the NBA season.
It leaves Exum on the lockout for another team, with the new season set to tip-off on Wednesday (AEST).
However, with roster spots filling up, his options are limited as he searches for his next NBA opportunity.
The likes of Golden State, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Minnesota have been mentioned as potential landing spots.
At this point, though, Exum is yet to find another club, and could start the new NBA season on the sideline.
If he is unable to secure another NBA deal, South East Melbourne are keen to offer him a contract to play in Australia.
Exum is a part-owner of the Phoenix and the franchise want to help him relaunch his NBA career with a short-term stint in the NBL.
South East Melbourne has one roster spot free for an Australian player and CEO Tom Greer confirmed the club would accommodate Exum should he choose to return home.
“If and when Dante decides that the NBL is the right move for him, we of course will do whatever we can do to make that as easy for him as possible,” Greer said.
“However, we still believe Dante has something to prove at the NBA level and will continue to support him with that.”
Exum’s uncertain NBA future has sparked conversation in NBL circles about the Boomers star potentially playing in Australia.
As a South East Melbourne part-owner, it’s understood the Aussie guard could only play for the Phoenix as signing with another franchise could be seen as an integrity issue or a conflict of interest.
The 26-year-old played in three pre-season games for Houston, but didn’t suit up in the team’s final hitout against San Antonio before being waived on Sunday.
Boomers legend Shane Heal believes Exum would benefit enormously from an NBL stint with South East Melbourne.
“It would help him get his swagger back because he could play a full season,” Heal said.
“He could really invest in his own game and confidence playing here, which could be better in long-term compared to being in a situation in the NBA where he is the 12th man on the roster and not playing many minutes.
“He can become the man again, rather than having to play bits and pieces of minutes. Plus, he has never really had a full season where he has been healthy.
“It (an NBL stint) definitely would be a positive.”
Exum still has plenty to offer the NBA despite his injury struggles in recent seasons, restricting him to 97 games since 2017.
He showed during Australia’s successful Olympic campaign that he is capable of extending his NBA career, and excelling at that level.
Exum averaged 9.0 points, 3.7 points and 2.8 assists and 56.7 per cent from the field as the Boomers collected a historic maiden bronze medal.
NBA SEASON PREVIEW with Jamie Pandaram
Only 10 Australians have ever been picked in the first round of the NBA draft, but the latest, Josh Giddey, has such potential that legend Andrew Gaze believes he can become the next Luka Doncic.
Most consider Doncic among the best players in the world, alongside Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetoukounmpo.
So it’s no faint praise from Gaze, one of Australia’s most recognised ballers, who has played a key role in the development of 19-year-old Giddey who was drafted No. 6 by Oklahoma City Thunder and will earn $8 million in his first season.
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“I go back to what I said before he was even drafted and when he was still developing, I looked at Josh Giddey and I said ‘He has the traits that we saw through the formative years, the NBA years in particular, and even some of his time when he was playing in Spain, of Luka Doncic’,” Gaze told News Corp.
“I don’t think anyone a year-and-a-half ago thought that Luka Doncic would be regarded right now as arguably one of the best players in the world.
“But as far as having an impact on an NBA team, I think that he’ll do it in different ways. Of course, he’s not exactly like Luka, but he has the capacity to have that type of impact, which is extraordinarily high because Luka Doncic is one of the players, if not the top player, in the NBA as we speak.”
Such is Doncic’s talent, he recently signed a franchise record $280 million, five-year contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks.
Throwing Giddey into the same conversation as Doncic is a bold call but Gaze — who urged the Adelaide 36ers to sign him last year — has keenly observed the Melbourne teenager’s progress from a young age.
“He’s not a cocky kid, he’s not going to go out there and tell the world how great he is,” Gaze said.
“But you don’t get to do what he’s doing without tremendous self-belief and confidence that you can perform on this stage.
“He does have a team-first [mentality], but he also realises in order for the team to win, he has a self-belief that he knows he can contribute in a way that’s going to enable the team to win.
“From the time he was 14 to the time he was 17, there was a big, big jump in what he was doing because of his size and growing, but also because of his understanding of the game, his passing ability, his athleticism. They improved in conjunction with him growing.
“So the combination of those things, you knew from probably under-16s, this kid is going to be special.
“He was always there as a really, really skilled guy, and then what happened was that he grew, which helped.
“He was able to broaden his game. And sometimes with some individuals, there’s small incremental improvements that leads to something special.”
Giddey, a 205cm guard, has a strong all-round game and is renowned for his playmaking skills.
He has been impressive during this pre-season, averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 28.9 minutes per game. He’s expected to play big minutes for the young Thunder team this season, starting with their first regular season match against Utah Jazz next Thursday.
“It’s tough as a young kid coming into the NBA,” Giddey said. “With the athletes and the size there is, it takes time.
“It’s not going to be perfect right away and I’ve learnt that.”
Basketball is in his blood.
His father Warrick Giddey played 449 games in the NBL for Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne Tigers, mother Kim played for Melbourne in the WNBL, while his sister Hannah plays for Oral Roberts University in Tulsa.
Warrick, who also played in the 1985 Australian Schoolboys rugby team featuring future Wallabies Ricky Stuart, David Wilson, Sam Scott-Young and Scott Gourley, is proud of his son’s capacity to rebound from setbacks.
“I coached him from under-12s, 14s, 16s, we never lost,” Warrick Giddey said.
“But I’d say the pivotal moment was him probably not making the under-16s [Victorian] state side. And maybe again, not making the 18s, those two years were pivotal, those two state teams that he didn’t make in a row.
“There was disappointment, he was shattered. He stayed with them as an emergency in both of those until they went, but just the determination to not miss out next time was there.”
While he missed on the Victoria under-16s team, Giddey was picked up by the NBA Global Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, where coach Marty Clarke knew he had a gem.
“There were some things that stood out when you first watched Josh play, one was his ability to pass the ball and see the game ahead of what other people would normally see it,” Clarke said.
“It’s not just the seeing of the game for him, it’s the ability to do things on both sides of his body, he can pass it right handed, pass it left handed, pass in the air, he can drop it on the floor, he can throw it ahead, pass it after a dribble.
“You see a lot of people who are good passers that can pass in certain situations. He basically has every situation covered. It doesn’t matter who he’s playing against and where he’s at, he understands the game.
“He’s a competitor, he loves to win.
“Lots of people say they’re competitive, they love to win, and they try and win the things themselves. He trusts his teammates.
“He knows how to get the best out of his teammates, knows how to make them better, and in a team game that counts way more than just going out and getting it done yourself.
“That’s a toughness in itself. Trust is an ability to be tough and help and empower other people to do things. And Josh has that.
“When you combine that with not only his skills, but the fact he plays a position on the floor that has the ball in his hands most of the time, he’s quite willing to give the ball up.”
WHO IS JOSH GIDDEY?
Born: October 10, 2002 in Melbourne
Father Warrick Giddey played 449 games in the NBL for Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne Tigers. Mother Kim also played for Melbourne Tigers in WNBL, while his sister Hannah plays for Oral Roberts University in Tulsa.
A star prospect at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra.
Signed with Adelaide 36ers in 2020 and claimed the NBL’s rookie of the year award.
In 2020 he debuted for Australia’s national team, the Boomers, becoming the youngest Aussie international since Ben Simmons in 2013. He was picked as an emergency player for the Tokyo Games.
Rejected offer to join US College team University of Colorado to declare himself available for NBA draft
Selected as pick No.6 by Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2021 NBA draft
AUSTRALIAN FIRST-ROUND NBA DRAFT PICKS
1991: Luc Longley, pick No.7, Minnesota Timberwolves
1997: Chris Anstey, pick No. 18, Portland Trail Blazers
2005: Andrew Bogut, pick No.1, Milwaukee Bucks
2011: Kyrie Irving, pick No.1, Cleveland Cavaliers
2014: Dante Exum, pick No.5, Utah Jazz
2016: Ben Simmons, pick No.1, Philadelphia 76ers
2016: Thon Maker, pick No.10, Milwaukee Timberwolves
2019: Matisse Thybulle, pick No.20, Boston Celtics
2020: Josh Green, pick No.18, Dallas Mavericks
2021: Josh Giddey, pick No.6, Oklahoma City Thunder
TOP 5 EASTERN CONFERENCE
BROOKLYN NETS
$3.50
Best line-up: James Harden, Joe Harris, Bruce Brown, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge
Comment: Flat earther Kyrie Irving won’t play unless he decides to get the Covid jab but, in Kevin Durant, James Harden and a host of veteran role players, the Nets still have the weaponry to dominate the league.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
$10
Best line-up: Jrue Holiday, Donte Di Vincenzo, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
Comment: Losing PJ Tucker could come back to bite, but they kept the rest of the core together and added another bench scorer in Rodney Hood and, with Giannis at the helm, it would surprise no one if they went all the way again.
MIAMI HEAT
$17
Best line-up: Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, Bam Adebayo
Comment: A season removed from catching lightning in a bottle to make the finals in the Orlando bubble, the Heat have added title experience in Lowry and Tucker and, while Jimmy Butler is the man, young gun Tyler Herro’s development is key.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
$21
Best line-up: Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
Comment: The moment Philly was dumped out of the 2021 playoffs, Ben Simmons was story and the bitter circus between the organisation and its Aussie star might have derailed the Sixers’ season before it’s begun.
ATLANTA HAWKS
$41
Best line-up: Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, John Collins, Clint Capela
Comment: Upset the 76ers in last season’s playoffs before they were stomped by the eventual champions, the Hawks can’t win it, but Young’s clutch daggers will break plenty of hearts on the way.
TOP 5 WESTERN CONFERENCE
LA LAKERS
$5
Best line-up: Russell Westbrook, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, LeBron James, Anthony Davis
Comment: LeBron has put together Dad’s Army for another tilt at a title, but how long before he gets sick of Westbrook’s boneheaded play? The Lakers are under the odds at $5, but have the talent to go all the way if they somehow gel and Davis’ paper mache body holds up.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
$13
Best line-up: Steph Curry, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney
Comment: Some pundits are underestimating the Curry-led Warriors but the marked improvement of Poole and the return of Klay Thompson, slated for January, makes them a formidable championship hope.
PHOENIX SUNS
$15
Best line-up: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton
Comment: Fell at the final hurdle in 2021, but the Suns should be in the mix again. Booker is a superstar and they have the right mix of guns and role players but could the protracted negotiations around Ayton’s contract come back to bite them?
UTAH JAZZ
$15
Best line-up: Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, Rudy Gobert
Comment: Queensland, this team ain’t. The Jazz are beautiful in the regular season, but definitely not perfect in the playoffs. With no major off-season moves, can they find the internal improvement to produce postseason success?
DENVER NUGGETS
$21
Best line-up: Monte Morris, Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
Comment: The Nuggets have the MVP and a breakout young star in Michael Porter Jr, but how well Jamal Murray comes back from a torn ACL will decide how far this team goes.
AUSSIES IN THE NBA
BEN SIMMONS – Philadelphia
Despite his offensive limitations, Simmons is undoubtedly among the best defenders and playmakers in the NBA. His future in Philadelphia is up in the air, but success can heal wounds. Any chance he’s unlocked a jumpshot and fixed his free throw shooting?
PATTY MILLS – Brooklyn
The potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate enhanced his reputation as an Aussie national hero with his Tokyo exploits. The new Net’s deadly shooting becomes invaluable, given flat-earther Kyrie Irving’s refusal to take the Covid vaccine.
JOE INGLES – Utah
Another Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Ingles can still expect starter’s minutes as a reliable shooter and playmaker for a Jazz team that has been brilliant in the regular season, but battled in the playoffs.
DANTE EXUM – Unattached
A number of serious injuries have cruelled Exum over the journey but he had a solid Boomers’ campaign and looked to have his opportunity with the rebuilding Rockets. But he was cruelly waived from his $20m contract on the eve of the season, and is now awaiting a new opportunity.
MATISSE THYBULLE – Philadelphia
A case study in what 76ers teammate Ben Simmons missed out on in Tokyo, Thybulle benefitted greatly from his experience with the Boomers and will use that confidence as a key defensive cog in Philly.
JOSH GREEN – Dallas
Wildly athletic, Green comes off a rookie season where opportunity was sparse, leaving room for growth. Can he carve out a three-and-D role in support of star Luka Doncic?
JOCK LANDALE – San Antonio
A prototypical Gregg Popovic big man, the master coach loves a fundamental international who shares the ball, which is exactly what Landale is. His teammates already love him and he could find 20-30 minutes a night if things go his way.
JOSH GIDDEY – Oklahoma City Thunder
Raw but ready, Giddey is a giant playmaker who can finish at the rim and is working hard on his jumpshot. It looks as though the Thunder could roll out a three-guard starting line-up, which would be huge for the 19-year-old.
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