Nets have a unique first solution to the Ben Simmons-Dennis Schroder battle

SAN DIEGO – When we entered Nets training camp, most of the conversation centered around the point guard duel. It turns out they will have dual point guards instead.

After all the questions about who would get the nod between Dennis Schroder and Ben Simmons, both veterans will start together when Brooklyn begins its preseason on Tuesday against the Clippers.

Although they spent most of their open runs and the early stages of training camp with separate teams, head coach Jordi Fernandez had them working side by side in practice on Saturday – and will opt to do so again on Tuesday at Frontwave Arena.

“They played together. And we will go into the first game of the preseason with two point guards,” said Fernandez. “You’ll definitely see that.

“It's something that gives us a different look at the moment, playing with size but not really big and with a lot of playmaking and shooting. “So it's going to be fun. It’ll be a lot of fun to take a look at.”

Neither Jacque Vaughn nor Kevin Ollie got to watch this last season. Schroder had hoped to play alongside Simmons upon his arrival from Toronto, but Simmons' injuries derailed that plan.

Even at camp, they played together on the first day but were kept on separate teams until Saturday.

“When I got here, I played the first scrimmage with Ben,” Schroder said. “We didn’t do it as much after that. We competed against each other in every practice and that was great to push ourselves and try to get as many wins as possible. But the coach decided that we would start together and make the best of it.”

The duo played just 16 minutes together in three games last season and finished with a minus-4. They had hoped they would come out of the All-Star break in better sync, but Simmons had to undergo season-ending back surgery.

Over the past two years, the Nets have played at a 35-win pace without Simmons and at a 45-win pace with him. The Nets are finally healthy and relying on the pair's ability to lead the transition.

“A lot of speed. He’s (quick),” Schroder said when asked what a two-point guard tandem with Simmons might look like. “I mean, he hasn't been healthy the last few years, but when he's healthy, we know what he can do. He's an All-Star player, so he's going to push the ball. (He is) selfless.

“He plays with courage on defense. And that's what we need here. So a lot of speed. He can talk about it, I'll go to the corner. If not, me and him in the pick-and-roll, he sets the screen or I set the screen. I think we can do a lot. And today we've been working on that, and we're trying to keep pushing forward, moving forward, building. Yes, we will continue to work.”

Fernandez didn't say whether that pairing was due to the Nets' missing players, as Nic Claxton, Bojan Bogdanovic, Day'Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford were all out of the preseason opener.

But when asked about the distance from Simmons, he said he wanted to see how things work first and didn't need to have all the answers. These preseason games should give him some of those answers.

“It was good, man. They're both so fast, both so electric when they play. “Both are looking for people to take charge,” Jalen Wilson said. “It's good for me because I want to run down the field, get into the corner and score free throws. And I have two people pushing even harder to find us.”

So far in camp, the Nets haven't seen much of Schroder and Simmons together. That will change on Tuesday.

“I haven’t seen it in action yet, so it’s hard for me to say (what it will look like),” Noah Clowney admitted. “But when they have both, they can play off the ball and be on the ball. The way we can use that can be unique.”