Nets' Kyrie Irving on Ben Simmons: 'Give Him a F--king Chance; We Stay on His S--t'

Kyrie Irving is tired of the negative discourse surrounding Brooklyn Nets teammate Ben Simmons.

"You guys keep coming in here, asking me, like, 'What about Ben?' He hasn't played in two years," the point guard told reporters following Wednesday's 110-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. "Give him a f--king chance. We stay on his s--t. You just stay on him. But we're here to give him positive affirmations."

Simmons was always going to be under the spotlight this season.

After all, the last time he was on the court before this season was the 2021 NBA playoffs when he was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers lost in the second round to the Atlanta Hawks, and he infamously drew plenty of criticism for passing up a dunk and scoring just five points in the Game 7 loss.

The LSU product then missed the entire 2021-22 season and was traded to the Nets as part of the deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia.

It hasn't exactly been great for Simmons as he continues to shake off the rust.

Wednesday was the fourth game he has played this season, and he has 21 total points to 18 fouls. He fouled out of two different contests and is just 3-of-9 from the free-throw line. He missed the only three-pointer he attempted and has seemed like more of a role player than a three-time All-Star at times.

Brooklyn is also 1-3 in the games he has played.

It hasn't been all bad, as he is facilitating with 7.5 assists per game while playing solid defense at times. His play on that end of the court will be key as the season progresses, considering Durant and Irving can handle most of the scoring responsibilities.

Yet the scrutiny will still be there, even if Irving wants commentators and fans to give Simmons more of a chance to prove himself on the Nets. If he continues to foul at almost the same rate he is scoring points, it isn't going to go anywhere.