NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons will return to the court for the first time in nearly three months on Monday, coming off the bench and on a time limit against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center.
“It’s going to be good to have him back on the court,” Nets coach Jacques Vaughn said before the game. “I think for him, being around his teammates and competing in a competitive environment is the No. 1 thing.”
Simmons has missed 38 games since hitting a nerve in his lower back on Nov. 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He recently practiced with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G-League affiliate, but had not yet had a full practice with the Nets before Monday’s game.
That’s part of the reason why Vaughn said Simmons will make a “brief stop” on Monday, though he declined to say how long.
“We haven’t seen him on the field in a few months, and there’s going to be some lineups tonight that we haven’t actually played together yet,” Vaughn said. “So that’s the challenge of continuing to get to know your teammates while trying to win games.”
Simmons averaged 6.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists in six games over the first two weeks of the season for Brooklyn before his latest illness sidelined him for the better part of three months. After initially being labeled as having a hip issue, the Nets ultimately determined he had a nerve impingement in his back, and Simmons’ return to the court was slow to come.
It’s just the latest in a series of injury issues Simmons has dealt with over the past three years, after he missed the 2021-22 season due to a trade request away from the Philadelphia 76ers and back issues. He played just 42 games last season before being sidelined early with a different neurological issue.
“He’s going to be there for a short period of time, so hopefully it would be wise for us to see how he feels,” Vaughn said. “He hasn’t actually trained with the guys he’s going to play with tonight. It’s going to be day-by-day and we’ll get feedback from him and see how he feels after the game. Historically, he’s been is a guy that can do that.” Having time to rest and get back out there and be very efficient with speed and speed, and hopefully that’s the result after tonight as well. “
While Simmons is back, Vaughn said the Nets will be without Dorian Finney-Smith due to a sprained left ankle he suffered in Monday’s game and Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns. It was Kevin Durant’s first game back in Brooklyn since being traded last season.
Brooklyn also announced Monday that rookie Darik Whitehead underwent season-ending surgery to repair a stress reaction in his left tibia.
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