Former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons last played for the Brooklyn Nets on February 15 against the Miami Heat. Since then, he has sat out rehabbing a knee injury. On March 1, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn spoke about Simmons’ injury, though he did not provide an update on when he would be back.
“Coach Jacque Vaughn declined to give any meaningful details on the former All-Star’s strengthening process or a timeline for his return, but he did reiterate that the Nets still haven’t had any discussions about shutting Simmons down for the rest of the season,” Brian Lewis of The New York Post said.
Vaughn delved into what Simmons is doing while rehabbing from his injury and why the Nets are going this route with him.
“Still getting the strengthening back in order, and I would say won’t play [Tuesday], won’t play [Wednesday]. That’s kind of what I’ve got for you,” Vaughn added. “It’s just us trying to take advantage of where we are in the calendar, coming off of [the] All-Star [break], using the two practices that we have and getting feedback that way and just continue, we want to get to a position where we have no reoccurrence of swelling or anything of that nature.”
Ex-NBA Player Calls Simmons ‘Minimum Player’
During his appearance on FanDuel TV, former NBA player Chandler Parsons had some strong words for Simmons’ career projection going forward.
“It’s a strong mental block, in my opinion, where he just can’t overcome it,” Parsons said. “We have to stop talking about it. We have to take him for what he is. I think, eventually, it’s gonna lead to a buyout, and he’s most likely a minimum player for the rest of his career. Until he magically kind of shows that he can play and produce at a high level again, but it’s really crazy how big of a turn this has taken on a guy.”
“He’s most likely a minimum player for the rest of his career…”
@ChandlerParsons on Ben Simmons 👀
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Simmons is putting up some of his career-worst averages across the board this season, including points per game (6.9), assists per game(6.1), rebounds per game (6.3), and steals per game (1.3).
Simmons is slated to make $35.4 million this season, will make $37.9 million next season and $40.3 million the season after that. If the Nets feel Simmons will not be worth that, they may either look to trade him or, as Parsons predicted, buy him out.
Georges Niang Rips Simmons
During his appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic, Georges Niang talked about what it was like to have the Simmons drama going on during Niang’s first year with the Sixers.
“Ben Simmons kind of handicapped us at the beginning of last year,” Niang explained. “I mean, I wasn’t gonna say it, but now, you know what I mean?”
Niang added what it’s like from an executive’s point of view to try to replace what Simmons could do on the court.
“When you’re building rosters, talking from a general manager standpoint – I don’t know how much [Simmons] makes, but it’s a max contract. So you immediately take that off the books, ‘I’m not playing,’ you have to figure it out where other role players have to step up and replace, you know, the passing, dribbling, rebounding, defense –,” Niang said.
Niang and Simmons were technically teammates during the 2021-22 season, but they never played a game together because Simmons held out.
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Silence from Nets Coach Further Clouds Future of Sixers Castoff Ben Simmons