The Ben Simmons saga with the Philadelphia 76ers ended right before the NBA trade deadline, as he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster deal that also included James Harden. However, we haven’t gotten any better of an idea of when Simmons could be returning to the court.
Simmons hadn’t appeared in a game yet this season for Philadelphia. He had requested a trade in the offseason and was adamant about being moved. Citing mental health and a balky back, Simmons remained away from the 76ers permanently.
Many people assumed that once he was traded, he would be back on the court shortly after. A March 10th game between the Brooklyn Nets and 76ers was mentioned as a possible target to get Simmons and Kevin Durant, who has been working his way back from an MCL sprain, back on the court.
However, that plan has since been scrapped. While Kevin Durant is expected back sometime this week, the same cannot be said about Ben Simmons. In the most recent update from Brian Windhorst, it was revealed that Simmons is week-to-week, not day-to-day, and we may not see him on the court in March.
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“I wouldn’t buy non-refundable tickets or hotel rooms,” Windhorst told ESPN. “Rich Paul and they just told me over the weekend that Ben is now considered week-to-week. He’s had some back soreness — that’s what Steve Nash referred to it as. Six or seven days ago, the (Nets) had a plan in place, that’s what I was told, that would have had both Durant and Ben Simmons back active by that game on March 10. But now that plan has been scratched.
“Durant should be back this week but Ben Simmons is ‘week-to-week’ and March 10 is next week. As of yesterday, Ben hadn’t been able to do a five-on-five workout with the team yet. Frankly, he’s not close. I don’t even know if he’s going to be back in March.”
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Given the current state of the Brooklyn Nets, this is certainly disappointing news. The team has big plans for Simmons, especially with Kyrie Irving’s situation still up. As an unvaccinated player, Irving is still not eligible to play in games at Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden.
Getting Durant back in the lineup will certainly help get things back on track. They have been awful without him, going 6-17 since he was injured in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 15th and 9-20 overall without him this season.
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Kevin Durant is good enough to keep the team competitive against anyone and he creates a strong duo with Irving when he is in the lineup. But, if they want to truly compete with the upper echelon teams in the league, they need Ben Simmons in the lineup performing at a high level. When that will be is anyone’s guess as Brooklyn has only 19 games remaining in the regular season.
