Ben Simmons 'probably not' returning this season, Nets head coach says

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Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said Ben Simmons likely will not return this season.

The team said Friday it discovered a nerve impingement in his back that has been bothering him since last year, which would force him to miss indefinite time.

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons before a game against the New York Knicks Feb.13, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

Simmons has been out since Feb. 15. Even before then, he was in and out of the lineup, playing in 42 games.

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Simmons missed the entire 2021-2022 season for what he said were mental health issues, and he's missed a significant amount of games due to injury since joining Brooklyn. 

When he's been on the court, he has been a shell of himself. With the Philadelphia 76ers, he averaged 15.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Since joining Brooklyn, those numbers are down to 6.9, 6.3 and 6.1.

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Simmons has dealt with back issues since last year, but he has remained out of the lineup since the All-Star break because of a knee injury.

Simmons joined Brooklyn as the main piece of a blockbuster deal that sent James Harden to Philly, which marked the beginning of the end of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era in Brooklyn.

Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center Nov. 22, 2022, in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

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The three-time All-Star was the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.