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Steve Nash has “extremely high hopes” over Ben Simmons playing in the regular season

"The biggest thing we've tried to do is to have him be involved in everything."

Ben Simmons has yet to play a minute of basketball this season and his trade to the Brooklyn Nets hasn’t quite made a difference on that front just yet.

The Nets have no idea when the Australian will be ready to make his debut for the season, with a back injury understood to be lingering. However, head coach Steve Nash is hopeful Simmons could return to playing before the close of the regular season.

Speaking after shootaround on Tuesday, Nash said he has “extremely high hopes that we’ll see him in the regular season.”

“He’s just doing his rehab, strengthening,” Nash added. “We’re still doing that side of things rather than court work right now.”

Steve Nash
Photo: nba.com

The Nets only have 14 games left to play before the start of the playoffs but Simmons still hasn’t been cleared to practice. It was initially thought that his back injury was based on soreness due to him not playing all season but it’s become more serious in recent weeks and the player hasn’t been able to participate in anything barring individual workouts.

Simmons didn’t travel to Orlando with the Nets for their game against the Magic on Tuesday night.

“The biggest thing we’ve tried to do is to have him be involved in everything,” Nash explained. “The traveling is the one caveat where sometimes you’re weighing the cost-benefit of him on airplanes and buses and different beds. When he’s with us we want him in every meeting, in every walkthrough, in every film session, whatever it may be so he’s around the group. We’d love for him to travel, be with the team all the time, but we have to weigh that scenario as well.”

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