Ben Simmons is well aware he’s in debt with both Brooklyn and their fans, after struggling to find his best form in the last couple of years. The Australian star has been either injured or simply ineffective wearing the Nets jersey, and considering his inflated salary, he’s convinced he will improve this upcoming campaign.

During a recent interview, the foward truly believes that the entire team is now pulling together towards the same direction, especially after failed superstar duo Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were traded out.

“I’d say [the hardest part was] not be able to do your job to the fullest. I never have excuses, I never tried to say anything about different things going on. But I was dealing with an injury at the time, so I did what I could in the moment,” he said. “And I owe it to everybody, the fans and everybody, to get back to where I need to be. That’s what I did this summer to get back.”

Ben Simmons says he owes his fans a bounce back season

“I owe it to everybody, the fans and everybody, to get back to where I need to be. That’s what I did this summer — to get back. Get ready for a great year. I think it’s going to be exciting, we’re going to have a lot of… pic.twitter.com/zhCZlnQLW9

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 18, 2023

Back when the 27-year-old was traded to Brooklyn in 2022 as part of the trade that brought James Harden to Philadelphia, he didn’t play a single second that competition due to back problems and mental health. After he underwent surgery, he bounced back last season but only played in 42 matches.

Now, he admits he had the entire offseason to prepare and is ready to play his best basketball yet. So, no excuses this time!

“[I feel] amazing. I think this is the first summer where I’ve really had to just get healthy and get back on track to where I need to be,” Simmons shared. “I’m super excited to be on Brooklyn, obviously. And then we’ve got a great, great team, a great coach in Jacque Vaughn. So I’m excited. I think this year is gonna be a completely different year to the past couple.”

Simmons assures that his coach Jacque Vaughn will play him more in point guard position this upcoming season

Now the Australian athlete guarantees he’s spoken to his head coach Jacque Vaughn about where he’ll be playing this following campaign.

“That’s what I know. As much as people would try to put me [at power forward]. Everyone’s a GM in their head: I’m a point guard,” Simmons revealed. “So I think with the team we have I think it’s constructed well for us to have a good run.

“Get ready for a great year. I think it’s going to be exciting. We’re going to have a lot of fun and get back to Brooklyn basketball.”

When asked about what has him the most excited about the 2023/24 season, he said that creating a new culture next to players like Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges will be key, as they all share the same team mentality.

“I think just playing with guys who are just easy to play with, that just have one goal and that’s to win. I don’t think guys have too many individual goals,” he said. “I think the team is going to come first and I think the culture that Jacque Vaughn, [general manager] Sean Marks are building now has been incredible.”

New York Knicks owner James Dolan sat down for an interview with The New York Times writer Katherine Rosman to discuss his ownership of the NBA team and the NHL’s New York Rangers.

While the Knicks and Rangers are “near and dear to my heart,” he said, “I don’t really like owning teams,” labeling the business of running major league sports “kind of sleepy.”

More importantly, he ruled out the possibility of selling the clubs, and Dolan at one point thought about buying more venues. “But the venue business is not a great business,” he added.

Per multiple NBA betting sites, the New York Knicks hold 14th-ranked odds to win next season’s 2024 championship. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

I interviewed Jim Dolan, hated by many New Yorkers, over a span of 5 months leading up to the opening of the Sphere. He didn’t shy from much: we talked facial recognition, Charles Oakley, banning lawyers, “Sell the Team” signs, opening for the Eagle, etc https://t.co/eIFJWDcVDV

— katie rosman (@katierosman) September 20, 2023

During the interview, the New York native also mentioned his pet peeve of dealing with unruly fans. “The Madison Square Garden code of conduct prohibits attendees from being confrontational with other fans or Garden employees,” the Knicks owner mentioned.

As a matter of fact, Dolan feels signs like “Sell the Team” are “directed at, on a personal basis, the guy who’s in charge — me,” he said. However, conduct directed toward employees is never touched on in the code of conduct. But it does state that “guests shall be respectful of others around them.”

New York Knicks owner James Dolan is tired of owning professional sports teams, feels Knicks fans need to stop displaying “Sell the Team” signs in Madison Square Garden

What does he feel should be allowed? “If you held up a sign that says, you know, ‘Play better, this team sucks,’ you can do that. That’s part of being a fan,” he explained. The reason it is permissible to verbally attack the team but not the owner, Mr. Dolan said, is because insulting a group is different from insulting one individual.

Of course, the Knicks have not won an NBA championship since 1973. They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to win their second title in franchise history.

Since New York’s series loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 NBA Finals, the Knicks have fallen short every season. The Eastern Conference club has suffered five first-round exits in the playoffs this century.

In an interview with ESPN’s Ian O’Connor back in 2018, James Dolan doubled down on his decision to not sell the teams. “I can tell you that nobody in my family wants to sell the Knicks and Rangers. It’s not just my dad. It’s the whole family; my [five] brothers and sisters. They like being owners.”

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Myles Turner just ended his 8th season in Indiana and is ready for a new challenge this upcoming campaign. In a recent interview in the “Run Your Race Podcast”, he referred to the struggles of being a celebrity in the sport world.

Last week, the Pacers center opened up about how hard it is to interact with NBA fans due to the way they treat athletes. On “Tidal League”, Turner said that they approach players almost as if they were their property, rather than normal people.

“People don’t view us as people, we’re property… You get paid millions of dollars, shut up. That’s kind of how the casual fan views us,” he said.

Myles Turner is for the fans! Exclusive access to your favorite players, only at NBA Con! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/cF3Bp5ULR4

— NBACon (@nbaconofficial) July 10, 2023

Of course not all fans treat basketball athletes this way, but there is no doubt that most are disconnected from the player’s reality, which happens in general with public figures from all spheres. According to the 27-year-old, social media is also to blame for creating spaces where people can criticize others from behind a screen.

“Social media has done wonders for the game but it has also f****d the game too… That trade stuff will really f*** with you,” Myles assured.

He then gave took a young NBA player as an example, to show just what kind of struggles a sport celebrity must endure when they achieve fame.

“The one kid who I will say who had a lot of that hype, and I’m actually really impressed with how he’s handling it, is Jalen Green,” he shared. “Jalen Green came (into the league) with a LOT of that hype, bro, even before he got to the Ignite with that social media stuff. Watching him develop into the player he is right now… I have to give him a shout out. It’s actually really impressive. That sh*t is hard.”

Turner also made a bold prediction of placing himself as an All-Star this 2023/24 season

The Pacers big man is hyped for this upcoming campaign, as he recently said on Theo Pinson’s podcast that he’s working to be an All-Star for the first time in his NBA career. Next year’s All-Star Game just happens to be in Indianapolis.

“I’m excited for the All-Star Game obviously,” Turner said. “That’s gonna be in Indiana this year. Y’all gonna see me there by the way. You heard it here first. But having that come to the city and having the league itself all come to show love to Indy, that’s gonna be dope. I think it’s a city that really deserves it. We were about to have the All-Star Game in 2020, then COVID happened. That’s the reason why it got bumped up to this year.”

Six months ago, Myles had one of the best performances of his career. Check out his 40-point performance against Boston in the video above.

The 27-year-old has proven to be an incredible rebounder and defender, leading the league in blocks per match twice already. Last season he put up 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest while shooting 54.8% from field goal attempts, 37.3% from threes, and 78.3% from the free-throw line.