Irving is injured! The All-Star guard has an excellent opportunity to prove, and if you can t grasp it, it s the next Simmons

NBA free agent market has been open for nearly two months, but Ben Simmons still has not found his next player.

Season 24-25, he played 51 times for the Nets and Clippers. Simmons averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists per game, and the real plus-minus value of defensive end defense was 1.8 - McDaniels's value was 1.4.

In short, Simmons won't even get a basic salary on the defensive end.

But Simmons's problem is not ability, but attitude.

Just in the first two games of the Clippers, Simmons scored 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. When fans thought everything was starting to develop in a good direction, the familiar scene came again: first, he took an innocent rest and then completely put on a suit and became a spectator.

From this perspective, it is not surprising that you can't get the contract. After all, the NBA is the most lacking player.

Speaking of this, we have to mention Russell.

This summer, we have reached a 2-year, 13 million contract with the Mavericks. It should be noted that the contract amount last quarter was 18 million. The two-year contract is not as good as the previous year. It can be seen that Russell is about to fade out of the league. But the good thing is that Irving was unable to play due to injury at least December before the new season. In my opinion, this is a great opportunity to prove Russell.

From the perspective of personnel composition, Irving was injured and Dinwiddie switched to the Hornets. At this stage, the only one who has certain tandem ability in the Mavericks is Russell. To put it more, Kidd tried to let the new No. 1 pick Flag play point guard in the summer. Not to mention the effect, this is more just a step toward diversifying its development. To put it bluntly, it is an unconventional operation.

is almost the only player in the team who has stable connections, and this will invisibly get a stable chance of performance.

From a technical and tactical perspective, the Mavericks' overall three-point shooting accounted for 38.9% of the total in the 24-25 season. Obviously, like the Celtics, Warriors and other projection teams, three-pointers are also the team's main ending method.

Speaking of three-pointers, this is obviously what Russell is best at.

In terms of data, he has hit a total of 1,576 three-pointers so far in his career, ranking 21st among active players. At the same time, the 37% three-point rate is not up to the top, and it is also an elite level.

is good at consistent with the team's main ending tactics, and to a large extent both sides can complement each other. I mean, the team has an additional stable ending point, and the players play like fish in water under the tactical system.

Of course, everything has two sides. The best opportunity to develop in the better direction is to allow Russell, the All-Star defender, to complete the "salted fish turnaround", but the bad direction is to completely "fall into the abyss". I think that Russell can't seize the opportunity anymore is the next Simmons.

First, at this stage, Russell can only make the league remember three points. If he can't score, there will be no shining points.

Second, the sharp drop from an annual salary of 18 million to 6.5 million is a good indication of the alliance's attitude - the disapproval has begun. From another perspective, joining the Mavericks has an excellent opportunity and the last chance.

To sum up two points, the next Simmons means that the contract expires and cannot find the next one. The difference is that Simmons is more about attitude and Russell is more about ability.