Ben Simmons was recently shut down for the season amid back issues and with his inconsistent playing history, it has left many wondering if he will even play in the NBA again.
He played in 42 games for the Nets this season, while last season didn’t play at all due to lingering back and knee issues and in 2020-21 he played 58 games before sitting out for Philly and being traded to Brooklyn.
Simmons had been represented by Klutch Sports since he was drafted as the first overall pick in 2016 NBA Draft, led by high-powered agent Rich Paul.
Last month, he parted ways with Klutch and now has a new agent – Bernie Lee, who also manages Miami star Jimmy Butler.
Lee spoke to The New York Post recently and confirmed that Simmons “will be healthy to start the next season, for sure” and went on to suggest he should have rested more after a microdiscectomy operation in May 2022.
“Without getting into specifics, what I’ve learned in all these conversations is that what Ben experienced here is considered to be part of the recovery from his previous procedure,” Lee said. “The NBA schedule is obviously rigorous and not forgiving to the need for patience at times, and Ben made every effort to be available to help his team in every way as much as he could.”
This season, it was clear he wasn’t performing as expected because his coach Jacque Vaughn was starting to bench him in the fourth quarter for his lack of impact.
Before being shut down, the point guard was recording career lows of 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 56.6 percent shooting from the field.
When asked whether Simmons would need another surgery, Lee was fairly non-committal with his answer:
“We’ve spent the last period of time along with the Nets really canvassing a broad spectrum of specialists from around the country to get both a full understanding of what’s going on right now, why and what the best plan is moving forward to allow Ben to fully resume his career at the highest level,” Lee said.
Let’s hope we can see the three-time All-Star make a full recovery this offseason and he can get back to playing his best basketball because he is owed $78.2 million dollars over the next two seasons.
