Getty Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets
On March 28, NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Brooklyn Nets had deemed the former Philadelphia 76ers‘ no. 1 pick, Ben Simmons, out for the season as he will begin a rehab program on his back.
The Nets have ruled out Ben Simmons for the remainder of the season. Simmons is beginning a rehab program on his back, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn says.
In light of the former Sixer having his season prematurely cut short, Sixers fans had their own reactions to the news.
“We know already,” one fan tweeted in response to the news. “I ruled him out 2 years ago,” another Sixers fan tweeted in a possible reference to Simmons’ last season with the Sixers, in which he played at an all-star caliber level.
Other Sixers fans expressed their disappointment in Simmons. “This dude… smh (shaking my head),” another one tweeted. Another made a prediction for where his basketball career will go next. “He better learn Chinese soon,” another fan tweeted, referencing the Chinese Basketball Association and insinuating that Simmons will play there next.
Former NBA Champion Sounds Off on Ben Simmons
Following the announcement that Simmons was done for the season, former NBA Champion Richard Jefferson gave his thoughts on the matter, sympathizing with Simmons’ issues, given how talented he is, because he knows other players who have gone through similar predicaments.
“We’ve seen players with all the talent in the world not make it,” Jefferson said. “We’ve seen players with all the talent in the world decided to just move on and step away from the game. So, when I look at this situation with Ben Simmons, yeah, we root for every player. I have not met a player that I don’t root for the best. But, when you ask me about Ben Simmons, I know a lot of guys like that. Because this is what we do. This is what we’ve done. I wasn’t the best player on my AAU team. I wasn’t the best player on my college team. A lot of guys don’t make it out.”
Jefferson added that if this is it for Simmons, he hopes for all the best for Simmons.
“If this is his story, and this is how it finishes, then I wish him the best. I wish him nothing but love and I wish that he just continues and lives his life.”
Jefferson won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Ben Simmons Expected to Be at Training Camp
Simmons’ new agent Bernie Lee told Ian Begley of SNY that Simmons should be ready for next season, going as far saying that both he and Simmons have “every expectation that Ben will be a Day One participant when camp begins next year without restrictions or issues.”
Lee went in depth regarding how Simmons will approach his recovery not just so that he’ll be ready for training camp, but also so that he’ll be healthy long-term.
“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 – something he has done since he entered the NBA,” Lee said.
He added that there’s a better understanding now of what he’s been going through.
“We feel like we have been given really solid clarity as to what he is experiencing today, how and why, and most importantly, what needs to happen moving forward to allow him to move forward with consistency and regularity.”
Simmons has only played 42 games – all from this season – since his last year with the Sixers.