Ben Simmons undergoes surgery after Nets shut him down for season
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ben Simmons had successful microscopic partial discectomy Thursday morning to alleviate the nerve impingement in his lower back.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Timur Urakov, in consultation with Dr. Barth Green, at UHealth Jackson Memorial Medical Center.
The Nets had already shut Simmons down for the season due to the nerve impingement, and Thursday they announced the surgery.
Despite being described with somewhat different nomenclature, the procedure — performed in Miami, where Simmons did his rehab last season — is essentially the same as his earlier discectomy in May 2022 due to a herniated L-4 disc. But it’s on the lower left back, as opposed to the right side for the initial operation
“This was an entirely different procedure in both scale and location,” Simmons’ agent Bernard Lee told The Post. “His previous issues continue to be independent events.”
The nerve impingement — as well as leg and knee issues that stemmed indirectly from it — limited Simmons to just 15 appearances this season. He averaged 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 23.9 minutes.
The Nets did not offer a timeline for his recovery, but the team said Simmons is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp next season. Both Lee and a specialist that spoke with The Post concurred.
Dr. Neel Anand — orthopedic spine surgeon and medical director of the Anand Spine Group — had spoken with The Post a week ago and suggested a decision on whether to undergo surgery had already been made.
“This is exactly what we discussed. If it’s mechanical, he’ll need surgery. If it’s inflammatory, he won’t. So you give it time to settle down, and [it didn’t],” Dr. Anand told The Post, who presumes Simmons should be fine for camp. “I completely agree. In three to six months, tops, he should be fine. Barring something else, he should be ready [for camp].”
For his part, Lee said his client will be ready not just for training camp at the end of September, but to work out in the summer.
“[I] would like to get out of the speculation game and just focus on the task at hand,” Lee said. “But this was chosen as a course of action as it is believed to be a permanent fix that will allow Ben to get out of the cycle he’s been in and continue his career on a permanent basis at the highest level.
“The expectation is he is available for camp and is able to train all summer regularly to be ready for the upcoming season.”
That upcoming season remains a hot-button issue with many Brooklyn fans.
After missing nearly three quarters of the Nets’ available games since his arrival, many fans would prefer to see him traded or bought out. But at least at the moment, the signs point toward that not being the case.
“Brooklyn has been and continues to be incredibly supportive of Ben,” Lee said. “Ben since the day he got traded to Brooklyn he has worked diligently to continue his career in Brooklyn and fulfill the expectations that come from his previous accomplishments; and the procedure he had [Thursday] was for that exact reason. He can and will move on from this and he can and will advance from this.”
Simmons hasn’t played since Feb. 26, and by the time their schedule draws to a close, he will have played in just 57 out of a possible 192 regular-season games for the Nets — and none of their eight postseason tilts since being acquired from Philadelphia on Feb. 10, 2022.
“I hope his mental is fine,” Mikal Bridges had said after Simmons was shut down. “I just know getting hurt isn’t fun at all. It gets with you mentally, so hope he’s just all right and just hope [for a] speedy recovery.”
Simmons is the only All-Star on the Nets’ roster. Much of what fired Jacque Vaughn planned to do this season was built around Simmons.
Now, the Nets will have paid Simmons over $86 million for two-plus seasons — $73,342,080 the past two seasons and roughly $13 million from the 2021-22 season in which they acquired him.