The Brooklyn Nets were defeated by the surging Sacramento Kings on Thursday, 101-96.
The Nets were led by Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, and the duo of Nic Claxton and Seth Curry.
One person who was not helping them was Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played a game with his team since the end of February.
But according to theScore, he could be coming back soon.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn said that he thinks Simmons will be back in the lineup sometime this season.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn said he expects Simmons back in the lineup this season. 👀 https://t.co/LWyYz7DrDK pic.twitter.com/PVKYG53Bkt
— theScore (@theScore) March 17, 2023
Simmons was first ruled out of playing during the All-Star break because of a nagging knee injury that he has been suffering from for apparently months now.
This is just the latest absence for Simmons, who has missed multiple stretches of games during 2022-23.
In total, he missed 16 games before the latest injury.
So far this season, Simmons has averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists a game.
That is a far cry from what the Nets expected of the former number-one overall draft pick.
When both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant left the Nets, there were some who wondered what that would mean for Simmons.
Is he really the sort of player who can lead the team in the future?
There has been a lot of speculation about what will come next for Simmons and the Nets.
Are they going to hold onto him in the offseason and hope he gets better or will they trade him away?
More importantly, what other teams in the league would be willing to sign the troubled star?
Perhaps when he returns in a few weeks, he will redeem himself, turn things around, and improve his trade value.
NEXT: NBA Fans React To Latest Ben Simmons Injury Report
