Controversial Australian NBA star Ben Simmons will not feature in his new team’s outing to his old stomping ground, as he remains sidelined with a back injury.
The 25-year-old was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline, after sitting out the entire season to that point.
The Nets are due to play in Philadelphia on Friday morning Australian time.
“After the game in Philly, Simmons, at that point, will be ready to start getting on the floor with his teammates and increasing his workload, getting closer to returning,” NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN.
READ MORE: Ian Chappell answers the biggest ‘what if?’ of Shane Warne’s career
READ MORE: Wests Tigers fume after Storm player cleared to play round one
READ MORE: Shane Warne’s very Australian final meal before suspected heart attack
Given the soft approach the Nets are taking with Simmons’ return to basketball after nearly a year on the shelf, it’s unlikely that they would have subjected him to such a hostile environment even if he were fit.
“That back problem has been an issue for him since he started ramping up,” Wojnarowski said.
“He’s essentially really just done individual work at their facility and they’re hoping by the end of this week, he’ll be able to do more.”
Simmons joins fellow Australian Patty Mills at the Nets, who said Simmons would make an instant impact once he does debut.
“He’s going to be a threat either way,” Mills told reporters after practice yesterday.
“On ball, off ball — whether he’s handling the ball, whether he’s off the ball as a screener, I think he’s such a threat that he’s going to draw a lot of attention. So I think given his IQ and the way he can pass the ball and handle the ball, that makes us better at his bare minimum.”
Nets general manager Sean Marks said last week that Simmons was not going to play in the immediate future, but could possibly take the court later this month.
Marks said Simmons would get “more into the team environment and then we can really ramp up and start him getting into game shape and so forth”.
It’s been a tough season for Brooklyn, who came into the year as one of the favourites to win it all – but sit with a losing record after 65 games following their loss to the Celtics today, and likely facing the prospect of the play-in tournament should they want to go deep in the post-season.