Like a brother, Cam Johnson stands up as one big supporter also in Ben Simmons’ road to redemption for the Brooklyn Nets.
After finishing his Friday practice with Team USA in preparation for this year’s FIBA World Championships, Johnson was asked by New York Post’s Ethan Sears about Simmons’ ongoing rehabilitation progress. The forward went on to note that he’s been hearing nothing but great signs at the side of the star swingman.
“He sounds good,” Johnson said. “He’s in a good place. He says it’s progressing and he’s excited for the season. Looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table this year. I expect him to be, if not full form, pretty close to it.”
Simmons’ stardom took a major crash in the last two seasons as he battled injury issues on his back, knees as well as that lowly morale out of massive judgment from critics and his long layoff.
In the last 2022-23 season, he only appeared in 42 games and averaged an underwhelming 6.9 points, 6.3 boards, and 6.1 assists. Simmons was then shut down by the Nets in late March as he was suffering knee soreness and nerve impingement in his back.
As such, Johnson has the utmost optimism that the Australian All-Star will be able to regain his old form and be finally productive for the Nets with his gifted traits of athleticism, versatility, and special floor general skills.
“He’s very important to us,” Johnson added. “There’s things that he does on the court that not many players in the NBA can do. And he adds something that is very valuable to myself, Spencer [Dinwiddie], Mikal [Bridges] and being able to set us up and get us shots and play in flow like that.
“With him on the court, it’ll make us a better team.”
