April 25, 2022

Nets coach Steve Nash didn't expect Ben Simmons to play either

Ben Simmons Nets debut is on hold...again.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Ben Simmons won't play in Game 4 for the Nets Monday night, and with Brooklyn's current trajectory, probably not at all for the year.

Despite earlier reports that Simmons was gearing up for a long-awaited Nets debut, he was ruled out once again after waking up with back soreness Sunday morning.

ESPN Sources: The Nets and Ben Simmons expected he would be ready to play on Monday, but after getting on the court yesterday Simmons says he awoke with back soreness today. In the end, the team and Simmons agreed he'll remain out for Game 4.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 24, 2022

Head coach Steve Nash apparently never had his hopes up, per Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill.

Steve Nash on Ben Simmons: “I wasn’t really expecting him to play.”
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) April 25, 2022

Hard to blame him.

Since the February trade gave the Sixers James Harden and finally got Simmons out of Philly, the former first overall pick has never looked close to actually returning to the court, despite talk from both him and the team that he would get there.

After Simmons was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and the play-in tournament with a back injury, word was he would be available for the Nets in the later rounds of the playoffs provided they got there. His timetable jumped ahead to Games 4-6 of Brooklyn's first-round series against Boston, but by that point, even reporters themselves had a hard time buying what they were hearing.

Now we're here, where Simmons' biggest contribution to the Nets is looking completely ridiculous on the sidelines while they face getting swept.