Ben Simmons to begin rehab, Nets hopeful of ‘full recovery’

Mar 28, 2023 - 7:09 PM

Brooklyn Nets at Phoenix Suns" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/35i0z_ugoM4vJnx0MOvqaukdbYw=/0x674:4672x3302/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72124220/usa_today_19913611.0.jpg" />

Jacque Vaughn announced Tuesday that Ben Simmons is shut down, which wasn’t new, and that he’s begun rehabbing on his back, which is.

“Ben will not be joining us the rest of the year,” said Vaughn, adding that Simmons is beginning a rehab program on his back and is expected to make a “full recovery,”

“After consulting with our doctors, multiple specialists, he’s just gonna begin a rehab program. Our doctors and the specialists feel and think that he’ll have a full recovery, so that starts now,” he said.

When asked if there was a chance of second surgery. Vaughn said that’s not in the cards, at least currently.

“As recommended right now and by the doctors, that is not in sight. That’s the recommendation right now,” said the head coach.

Vaughn emphasized that the Nets — and their doctors — expect Simmons to be back at full strength by next season. And it was clear from Vaughn’s comments that the Nets are not interested in moving the three-time All-Star acquired in the James Harden trade.

“That’s our goal,” Vaughn said re Simmons return to form. “And overall you just think about, he’s 6’10”, athletic, what he can do and bring to our team, how he can help our group on both ends of the floor. We want to be involved in that. We want to see that. I want to coach Ben and I want to be able to push Ben to get back to all-defensive team and impact our team on both ends of the floor. So that’s definitely the goal going forward.”

Simmons hasn’t played since mid-February, missing 17 straight games. For the season, he averaged career-lows of 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists. More importantly, he seemed to lack the explosiveness that had been a big part of his game.

Simmons had a microdiscectomy, a surgical procedure to repair the herniated L-4 disk, on May 5, 2022. Dr. Robert Watkins IV performed the surgery at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital in Los Angeles.

As Brian Lewis reported over the weekend, Simmons said in November that the timeline for a full recovery is normally 18 months.

“Yeah, it takes time to build, especially with having a nerve injury,” Simmons said then. “It takes 18 months for your nerves to fully heal. People don’t know that. But over time, you know, I get better and better. Just keep pushing.”

The Nets have not revealed medical specifics re the issue, but a doctor at the same hospital where Simmons underwent his surgery agreed with Simmons 18-month perspective.

“If he’s saying 18 months, someone told him that. Someone will say that when you know you’ve got a significant nerve problem,” Dr. Neel Anand of Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles told Lewis. “He had a microdiscectomy. … You have an operation to remove a herniated disk that’s pressing on a nerve.

“The surgery only takes the disc out and takes the pressure away from the nerve. It doesn’t make the nerve normal. … So the nerve is damaged, injured or whatever. The nerve has to recover on its own. So that someone told him that 18 months means he had a significant nerve problem. And yes, it would be right to say it might take 18 months for it to get better. Only time will say.”

Anand, who does not have access to Simmons records, said the most likely scenario is that Simmons had a “flare-up,” not some new issue, in his back. Simmons had had his left knee drained and an injection of platelet-rich plasma before the All-Star Break.

Vaughn intimated that the Nets decision was indeed the end of a process that initially was more about strengthening Simmons back but the recent discovery of the impingement changed things.

“So during that time, he was strengthening, trying to get back on the court, doing some things on the court. And that was just part of his kinda reassessment,” said Vaughn. “That’s when we got the impingement. So that started this next layer of going to see specialists. So that was kind of the sequence of the strengthening, which took part to get him to reassessing, which the reassessing got him to specialists. That’s how we got to today.”

• Ben Simmons’ injury-filled Nets season is over - Andrew Crane - New York Post
• Nets rule Ben Simmons out for season with goal of rehabbing back - Kristian Winfield - New York Daily News
• Brooklyn Nets shutting down Ben Simmons for rest of season - Nick Friedell - ESPN