Source: Mike Stobe / Getty
coach Jacque Vaughn broke the news, citing a recommendation from the team’s medical staff.
“Ben will not be joining us the rest of the year and through the playoffs,” Vaughn said after 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.”
If you totally forgot Simmons was even on the Brooklyn squad, it’s because he has played since the final game before the All-Star break in February. His current stretch of missed games has been blamed on a nerve issue in his back, but he’s missed an additional 33 contests because of knee and back injuries.
Simmons is averaging just 6.9 points a game and has seen little playing time lately since deciding not to take the court last season until he got traded from the Philadelphia 76ers. The drama in Philly consisted of him being fined over a million dollars for missing four preseason games and Coach Doc Rivers kicking him out of practice for refusing to run drills.
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After his February 2022 trade to the Nets, he was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back just a month later. Then in April, Coach
Steve Nash shut him down for the season. He planned to return during a pivotal playoff game against the
Boston Celtics, but it never happened.
The 26-year-old has another two years remaining on his contract, with the Nets scheduled to pay him nearly $80 million.
With two seasons left, Nets general manager Sean Marks said the franchise plans to continue supporting Simmons as he deals with his latest health issue.
“Same thing we’ve done in the past, is support him,”
Marks told ESPN. “This is a young man that has been through a very traumatic and pretty arduous last couple years here. And this is not news that he wants to hear. He didn’t want specialists telling him, ‘Hey look, here’s the best thing for you.’”
Twitter’s had enough of Simmons seemingly quitting on his teams and commenced to roasting him once again.
See the reactions below.
