‘A source of frustration for Durant’: NBA insider’s Nets reveal spells trouble for Simmons
Nothing goes proper in Brooklyn, with Kyrie Irving now suspended, Ben Simmons sidelined and the group struggling typically to reside as much as expectations on the court docket.
And as if the Nets didn’t have already got sufficiently big points, they may now be with out Simmons for not less than their subsequent two video games.
Simmons, who additionally missed Wednesday’s [AEDT] recreation in opposition to the Bulls, received’t journey to Washington or Charlotte with the group as he offers with soreness and swelling in his left knee, interim coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned following Friday’s observe.
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Vaughn left the door open to Simmons taking part in in Dallas on Tuesday.
“I’m just gonna say two [games] because of the back-to-back and then we’ll kind of address and see where he is after that,” Vaughn mentioned.
Simmons didn’t observe on Friday, with Vaughn saying he was getting remedy to get the swelling down on his knee.
Since coming to Brooklyn in a deal that despatched James Harden to Philadelphia final February, Simmons has performed simply six video games, all in the beginning of this season.
A again damage stored him from taking part in for the Nets final season, and he didn’t play in any respect whereas with the Sixers, citing psychological well being amid a holdout following his relationship with the franchise deteriorating.
Speaking on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’, Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned there was already a way of disappointment contained in the Nets organisation with how Simmons had seemed earlier than the damage.
“Ben Simmons has been a source of frustration for Kevin Durant, for others on the Nets so far, because now he is unable to stay on the floor with a knee injury but prior to that, he has shown that he’s a long way away from being back to an impactful player,” Wojnarowski mentioned.
“It’s a big part of the reason why the Nets are at the bottom of the league defensively and none of this really works. This team was built and reconstructed around the idea Simmons would play a significant role for this team, especially on the defensive end, especially rebounding the basketball and certainly facilitating the offence.
“There is no indication Ben Simmons is close to being back to anywhere near the player he once was.”
It comes after recommendations earlier within the week that Simmons had been named in commerce talks.
— With New York Post
