Ben Simmons has successful back surgery, expected to make full recovery

May 5 update: Simmons had a successful surgery per the Nets and is out for three weeks prior to beginning the rehab process. He’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp, but he still has to clear some mental hurdles before taking the court for his new team.

The Brooklyn Nets say point guard Ben Simmons will undergo back surgery Thursday. He likely remains out indefinitely, as he’s yet to take the court this season for either the Nets or Philadelphia 76ers. The procedure is expected to sideline Simmons for 3-4 months, but he is likely to be ready for training camp ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Simmons had sat out since being “blamed” by prominent Sixers personnel for the team’s Game 7 loss to the Hawks in the NBA playoffs last year. He was part of the trade involving James Harden at the deadline and there were reports of him being able to ramp up ahead of a return for the Nets.

However, Simmons reportedly had a setback involving a back injury and sat out the rest of the season. There were conflicting reports about Simmons possibly returning at some point in the playoffs, although it seemed like the team was always of the position Simmons wouldn’t play. That ended up being the case, and now he’s going to have surgery on his back.

As of this moment, it looks like the Nets may have lost the Harden trade. The team just experienced a sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics, and has yet to get anything from Simmons on the court.