Kendrick Perkins: Ben Simmons is Allergic to the Basket

Ben Simmons is fundamentally broken in nearly every way possible. He has had trouble staying on the court since he got traded to the Brooklyn Nets thanks to a myriad of maladies varying in severity. He famously cannot shoot worth a damn because his jumpshot is broken. And somehow his reluctance to shoot stemming from that issue has actually gotten worse this year!

I realize that is hard to comprehend after his hesitation cost the Philadelphia 76ers a playoff win and led to him getting sent out of town. But it is true. The lowlight reel of Simmons' getting to within several feet of the basket and turning down a wide-open shot to pass the ball this season is legitimately depressing to watch. Whatever is going on, the guy is barely a basketball player anymore.

Kendrick Perkins summed it up quite nicely yesterday on NBA Today and declared that the former No. 1 overall pick is allergic to the basket.

It is very hard to disagree with anything Perk says after watching Simmons do stuff like this every single game.

Man. It's just crazy because he is really good at other basketball-related things but is down so bad in the offense department that he's borderline unplayable. (As Zach Lowe points out in this clip - he's now basically the Nets' third-string center.) It's not like he's the first NBA player to step onto the court who can't shoot or hit free throws, either. He could be a very useful player if he was just willing to try layups and he can't even do that.

What a downfall.