NBA Rumors: Nets Hopeful Simmons Won't Miss Entire Regular Season

When Ben Simmons was still with the Philadelphia 76ers before the 2021-2022 NBA season started, rumors indicated that the three-time All-Star was willing to sit out the entire season if he didn't get traded.

For over 50 games, Simmons proved that wasn't a bluff. More than halfway through the year, Simmons missed every single matchup for the Sixers as he was ruled out due to "personal reasons" for every game.

On the day of the NBA trade deadline, the Sixers managed to move Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and picks. In exchange, the Sixers received James Harden and Paul Millsap.

Once Simmons was moved to the Nets, the star guard was believed to be ramping up action once again as he planned to finally make his season debut with the Nets. While it seemed Simmons' return was on its way -- the defensive standout suffered a physical setback as he worked on conditioning.

When the Brooklyn Nets paid a visit to the Sixers a couple of weeks ago, Brooklyn's head coach Steve Nash made it apparent that Simmons wasn't ready to play and it was unclear when he would be ready.

While ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Nets targeted a March 18 debut for Simmons when the Nets were set to take on the Portland Trail Blazers, another setback prevented that from actually happening.

Now, Brooklyn has nine games left to go in the regular season and Simmons has yet to appear on the court. Will the star guard miss the entire season? Or will the Nets get Simmons on the floor at some point over the next couple of weeks?

The Latest on Simmons

Shams Charania of The Athletic joined the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and offered an update on Simmons' latest situation. Per Charania, there is optimism that Simmons won't miss all 82 games this year.

“Ben Simmons is literally exactly what the Nets need, but they’re going to be cautious. The last thing you want to do, especially with a back injury, is bring him back when he has the disc issue and you rush it. I think they’re going to be cautious with it, but there’s an expectation around the Nets that Ben Simmons will play this year, it's just going to be about him ramping up and feeling healthy. The problem with him is it seems every time he’s gotten back on the floor he’s had something, a flare-up in his back, and so the hope is that now that he had the epidural injection last week, he feels better and hopefully, whether it’s in a week or whatever, gets back on the floor and tries to ramp up.” via 94 WIP

The Nets are running out of time to get Simmons back on the floor and playing before the postseason begins. While Nets head coach Steve Nash is confident that Simmons could be plugged in and playing comfortably without getting a ton of time to adjust to a new system and different teammates but it's easier said than done.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.