NEW YORK — Embattled Nets star Ben Simmons has been limited to individual on-court work in practice as he battles a combination of left knee and back soreness that has sidelined him since the NBA All-Star break.
Simmons missed his 15th straight game due to what the team has deemed left knee/back soreness, watching from the sidelines during Brooklyn’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Vaughn said for the first time since Simmons both received a platelet-rich plasma injection and had fluid drained from his knee during the All-Star break that Simmons has only practiced in an individual setting.
“It is not with teammates, and so I’ll say that piece of it,” the head coach said ahead of tip-off against the Cavaliers on Thursday. “He hasn’t scripted with our group — first group, second group or anything of that nature.”
Considering practice time between the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline — when Vaughn finalized a starting lineup of Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton — and the Feb. 17 start of the All-Star break was minimal, Simmons’ time spent on the court with the new-look Nets has been scarce.
Which makes it difficult to envision a world where he makes a true impact on the Nets’ season given there are now only nine possible games the point forward can now play in with no timetable yet given for his injury return.
“That’s why the great thing is I don’t even think that far ahead my man. I don’t even complicate my life that way,” Vaughn said. “I’m concerned about today’s game and if those questions present themselves, I’ll be more than willing to see how he fits with the group and answer it at that time, but I don’t even wanna look that far ahead.
“Ben’s in the same position he was the last time I talked to you [on Tuesday]. Nothing further to comment on. I don’t think I can give you anything else. There’s nothing to add, really.”
Simmons is the highest-paid player on the Nets’ payroll — and he’s also the most decorated in terms of individual accolades.
He was named 2018 Rookie of the Year, led the NBA in steals in 2020, was named twice to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and is a three-time All-Star. He signed a rookie max scale extension with the Philadelphia 76ers before arriving in Brooklyn as part of the James Harden trade and is due a total of $78M over the next two seasons.
Back issues have left him off the court more often than not since he landed in Brooklyn. Simmons suffered a herniated disk last season, received an epidural in an attempt to work through the injury, opted for offseason surgery and missed the entire 2021-22 season in Brooklyn, and has since had spotty availability this season, appearing in just 42 of 73 possible games this season.
Simmons is averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.6 steals through four years in Philadelphia before citing mental health issues as the reason for holding out the entire first half of the 2021-22 season with the Sixers before arriving in Brooklyn.
