KD and Kyrie are gone, and now, the Ben Simmons era is over…at least for 2023, as Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn announced Tuesday that the team is shutting Simmons down for the remainder of the season due to a nerve impingement in his back.
"Ben will not be joining us the rest of the year and through the playoffs," Vaughn said after Tuesday’s practice. "After consulting with our doctors, multiple specialists, he's just going to begin a rehab program. Our doctors and the specialists feel and think that he'll have a full recovery so that starts now."
Simmons sat out all of last season with the Sixers and Nets because of personal issues and back problems, and he required back surgery this summer. He hasn’t played since the All-Star break because of his current issue, and finishes this season averaging career lows across the board: 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in 26.3 minutes per game across xx games.
However, the Nets don’t think he will need another surgery, Vaughn saying “that’s not in sight,” and Simmons’ agent, Bernie Lee, confirmed that to SNY’s Ian Begley.
“We have every expectation that Ben will be a Day One participant when camp begins next year without restrictions or issues,” Lee told Begley. “Ben’s process of seeking out the information of what’s going on has been a very lock-in-step effort with the Nets to clearly get an understanding of how to give (him) the opportunity to not only get healthy, but also his best path to long-term sustainable health, which allows him to regularly participate and play at the highest levels.”
The Nets, too, expect Simmons to be ready for next season, and ready to excel.
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“Overall you just think about, he's 6-foot-10, athletic, what he can do and bring to our team, how he can help our group on both ends of the floor. We want to be involved in that. We want to see that. I want to coach Ben and I want to be able to push Ben to get back to All-Defensive team and impact our team on both ends of the floor. So that's definitely the goal going forward."
Simmons has two more years and $48.1 million remaining on his deal, and the 26-year-old will continue to have the organization’s full support as he works through his latest setback.
"This is a young man that has been through a very traumatic and pretty arduous last couple years here, and this is not what he wants to hear, but the good news is doctors were in unison in their plan for a full recovery,” GM Sean Marks said. “I do feel for him because I know he wants to be out here and be part of this team, and I hope he uses all of this chalkboard fodder for motivation. We hope that he's back healthy, ready to go."
The Nets are just 6-11 since the All-Star break – the last time they had any of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, or Simmons – and stand at 40-35 on the season, tied for sixth in the East (and 2.5 games behind the fifth-place Knicks) with seven games to go.
Brooklyn’s magic number to clinch some sort of postseason berth was one as of Tuesday, as one win or Wizards loss would clinch, but the team is in very real danger of ending up in the Play-In Tournament for the second straight year.
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