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The clock is ticking down on any hope Ben Simmons suits up for Brooklyn this season.
After first holding out while with the Philadelphia 76ers, citing mental health issues, Simmons then suffered a back injury while ramping up to play in the wake of engineering a blockbuster trade to Brooklyn on Feb. 10. As a result, Simmons hasn’t played a second this season, and as he now deals with a herniated L-4 disc, a league source acknowledged it’s looking unlikely he will at this point.
The good news is that Simmons has seen enough improvement with his back recently to give the Nets and their sidelined All-Star hope that he can at least avoid surgery this offseason.