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Basketball

Brooklyn Nets Ruling Out Ben Simmons For the Rest of Regular Season

Ben Simmons hasn’t played a single game since the beginning of the season, and things aren’t getting any better for him after he joined the Brooklyn Nets. The former Philadelphia 76ers player has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season due to health issues. The Nets coach Steve Nash discussed Simmons’ future prospects after Monday's practice and said he would be shocked to see him join the team in the upcoming play-in tournament because he’s still dealing with ongoing issues with his back. “I think in this situation, we got to put his health and safety first and make sure that we're certain he's ready to play and contribute. And the other part is he hasn't played basketball, so you don't know what kind of Ben you get,” explained Nash. This is just another one in the string of bad news for Simmons, following his holdout from the 76ers earlier this year. He missed games, practices, on-court workouts, and meetings after deciding he no longer wants to be a part of the team, and it’s been reported that he recently filed a grievance to challenge nearly $20 million of salary withheld by the 76ers. Simmons was traded to the Nets back in February, along with Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and two future first-round picks, in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap.