NBA insider Brian Windhorst revealed what sports agent Rich Paul had to say on his client, Nets point guard Ben Simmons, in regards to his injury status.
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have four games on the calendar this season: one in October, two in December, and one on March 10.
Their upcoming March game could prove to be a fascinating “revenge game” for Ben Simmons and James Harden, as the two recently-traded superstars would have a chance to battle against one another on swapped teams.
Unfortunately, anyone using this game to determine who “won” the Simmons/Harden swap likely won’t get a concrete answer on the 10th. NBA insider Brian Windhorst told the team at Sportsnation how Nets fans could prepare for the upcoming game.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t buy any non-refundable tickets or hotel rooms,” Windhorst joked.
Windhorst revealed that his conversation with Klutch Sports super-agent Rich Paul indicated that Simmons is nowhere near a hardwood return. “Ben is now considered ‘week-to-week,” Windhorst said. “He’s frankly not close. I don’t even know if he’s going to be back in March. I guess ‘week-to-week’ means ‘check back next week.’”
NBA insider reveals Ben Simmons is “week-to-week” and unlikely for March return
The recent update echoes the same ambiguous sentiment about Simmons’ return to the court that Shams Charania shared on Feb. 26. At that time, Charania clarified that “Brooklyn has no set timetable for Simmons’ return.”
Since being traded to the Nets, Simmons has been dealing with “back soreness in reconditioning process”, as Simmons hasn’t played basketball in several months. Simmons complained of back pain earlier in the years when he initially seemed as if he was trying to continue with the 76ers before refusing to play due to mental health concerns.
Simmons’ continued absence, especially when the Nets traded away Harden, begs the question of when, if ever, Simmons is going to play for the Nets.
While the jury is out on when he will return, it’s believed that he won’t be able to seek revenge against Philadelphia in the coming weeks.