Jacque Vaughn said after the Nets practiced Friday in Brooklyn that he hadn’t figured out how he would configure the team’s lineup for the first preseason game against the Lakers in Las Vegas on Monday.
But however it shakes out, plenty of eyes figure to be on Ben Simmons.
Earlier in training camp, Vaughn said he could envision Simmons being the Nets’ playmaker, “if he’s playing at a consistent and high level.”
After the first part of training camp, Vaughn’s feelings haven’t changed about the oft-injured Simmons.
“Overall, I’ll keep things pretty simple,” Vaughn said. “The agreement is the same with everybody: you perform [and] you get a chance to play at the end of the day. So he fits into that bucket.”
And the early results, according to Vaughn, have at least been encouraging.
“I think what we’ve seen is his ability to push the basketball and do it over and over again; play with an extreme amount of pace; get to the rim [and] play with force,” Vaughn said. “All the things we were asking and I was searching for last year.”
Knee and then back woes prevented Simmons from reaching those benchmarks and Vaughn said those injuries “revealed why those [parts of his game] weren’t happening.”
Simmons’ last healthy season was 2021, as he missed all of 2021-22 due to mental health issues, as well as a bad back. And in May, Simmons had surgery on a herniated disk that could prevent him from returning to full strength for 18 months.
Still, Vaughn added Friday: “The good thing is, those things are happening [now]. Now it continues and will continue to build into preseason games. So far he’s had some really good days.’’
Dorian Finney-Smith, who has been going up against Simmons in practice, has been impressed.
“He hit me with a couple good moves today,” Finney-Smith said. “That’s what I like to see from him. I feel like he’s doing [well]. He’s bouncing on his toes. He’s a top two, top three fastest person on our team and he’s 6-10, so it’s been good.”
Cam Johnson (hamstring) and Dariq Whitehead (foot) won’t play in the Nets’ first preseason game on Monday. … With the Nets practicing in Las Vegas over the weekend, Vaughn and some players said they plan on watching Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces. The Nets and Liberty both play their home games at Barclays Center. … The Nets signed guards Kameron Hankerson and Trey McGowens to the training camp roster, the team announced Friday. Both players were with the Nets’ G-League team on Long Island last season.