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Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons set to join Long Island Nets for practice, Coach Vaughn Confirms
The wait continues around the Brooklyn Nets for Ben Simmons, but the former star swingman is about to make critical progress in his soon comeback on the hardwood.
On Tuesday, head coach Jacque Vaughn revealed that Ben will remain inactive for the team’s three-game slate this entire week. Despite that, he is continuing his workouts and is about to begin practice by joining their G-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, as soon as next week.
“He will not play this week, so that gives us [Tuesday], Minnesota, and Houston. So he will not play this week,” Vaughn said. “But all signs are pointing towards him. … At some point, we’ll use Long Island to get a practice underneath him or get some more bodies around him. Hopefully, that’s in the near future.”
Ben's current injury progress and background
Ben has been unavailable for the team since Nov. 6 as he sustained a nerve impingement in his lower back.
The Australian star missed his 36th straight game on Tuesday as the Nets were defeated at the hands of the New York Knicks. He only appeared in six games this 2023-24, averaging 6.5 points, 6.7 assists, and a career-high 10.8 boards while shooting 52.8 percent from the field.
Simmons hopped in on the Nets' previous three-game road trip on the West Coast as he continues to build that conditioning and momentum to join the team once he finally recovers.
Hoping for the best
While a much bigger and positive update from Simmons has yet to be seen, Brooklyn stands optimistic that the three-time All-Star will find himself playing again as soon as possible.
For now, Vaughn reiterated that they can only observe Ben's progress in his ongoing workload this week.
“We’ll see what the next couple of days, how that unfolds, if we can get to a point of mixing Long Island in there and getting some active bodies around him and see how he responds to that,” Vaughn said.
