Nets fans may be taking a “we’ll believe it when we see it approach,” but Ben Simmons’ agent said that the often-injured guard is progressing in his rehab.
In a conversation with the New York Post, Bernie Lee said that Simmons was cleared to take the next step in his rehab. The presumption is that means more on-court work.
“Ben has been cleared to progress to his next stage of his rehab and is progressing really well,” Lee said. “And we remain very excited about his ability to return to form next year.”
The Nets will need some form of Simmons back on the court next year after he’s had his issues getting going since arriving in Brooklyn. Simmons has dealt with injuries, including back issues.
It was a nerve impingement that shut down Simmons last season. He played his last game of the year on Feb. 15 before the All-Star break, but wasn’t officially shut down until the end of March.
What shape Simmons returns in at the start of training camp will take some time to tell.
“He is checking the boxes on meeting different markers along the way,” general manager Sean Marks said last month at the team’s end-of-the-year availability. “So at this point, he does not need surgery. That is the hope going forward, that he will not have to endure another surgery and we can keep progressing. The timeline for this is that he’ll be back 100 percent probably by Sept. 1. That would be the goal and he’s a full go in training camp and ready to go.”
That had been the hope last season after Simmons underwent surgery for a herniated L-4 disk in May of 2022,
Simmons had posted to social media him working out at the Nets’ training facility in Brooklyn and on Wednesday he shared an Instagram story of him at the gym at the University of Miami. The point guard had also expressed interest in playing in the FIBA World Cup for Australia.
He was left off the preliminary 18-man roster that had been released last week, but things could still change.
Simmons struggled last year averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
