Simmons underwent back surgery and is expected to recuperate for three to four months, hoping to catch up with nets camp

Ben Simmons' deal farce and back problems have kept him on the edge of the NBA since Game 6 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, 321 days after we last saw him on the court. In the James Harden deal, Simmons moved from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets, joining Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to form one of the most talented teams in the league, but he had not yet made his debut, and the Nets were swept out by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

As the series progressed to games three and four at the Nets' home barclays center, there were reports that Simmons might make his season debut at home, along with training videos of his dunks and shots. However, Simmons did not return in the third game and missed the fourth game due to back pain.

Not long after, the Nets officially announced that Simmons will undergo back surgery this Friday, although the previous mixed information has caused a lot of confusion to the team and fans, but with the news that Simmons is about to undergo partial resection of the intervertebral disc, the outside world finally understands the seriousness of Simmons's injury, and now in retrospect, it is impossible for Simmons to play in the playoffs.

Nets head coach Steve Nash said: "I mean, I really didn't expect him to play, like we've always said, he's trying to improve, he's trying to overcome. Reports of him coming on the pitch came from the outside, I don't know where it came from, and we stuck to what we kept saying: he was still training himself, still trying to overcome difficulties, still trying to be strong enough and put himself in a position where he could play. ”

The focus of Simmons has shifted from when to play to how to stay fit, and according to ESPN's ace reporter Adrian Voynarovsky, Simmons is expected to recuperate for three to four months after undergoing surgery for back disc herniation, hoping to catch up with the Nets' training camp. Simmons will now have a full offseason to get fit, a training camp to find chemistry with teammates, and if things go well, the Nets are likely to be one of the title favourites again at the start of the 2022-23 season.

The Nets' 2021-22 season has been a lot of disasters, with Irving missing most of the home games due to refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Durant missing six weeks due to injury, and Joe Harris missing out for longer due to an ankle injury. When they staggered off their regular season journey with a record of 44 wins and 38 losses, the illnesses limited the stability of the team and forced them to pass through the playoffs to advance to the playoffs. While the team, which pays a high luxury tax, desperately needs to win, realistically speaking, the Nets' conditions for a championship this season are not ripe, and there are obvious loopholes in the team's lineup, players who can attack cannot defend, and players who can defend have no offensive ability at all, and these lineup problems are mostly masked by the team's pure talent.

So will the Nets adjust their lineup in the offseason? For now, it looks like the Nets will at least wait until they see how Simmons performs on the court, as they believe the Australian player's offensive and elite defensive abilities seem to be enough to fill in some of the obvious holes in the lineup.

This season, the Nets are only ranked 20th in defensive efficiency, and in terms of the number of singles rounds and the frequency of singles, they are ranked first in the league, which is obviously a team with a poor defense and a single offensive routine, and Simmons's defensive ability and organizational ability will undoubtedly bring some much-needed changes to the Nets' offense, not to mention simmons has a three-year contract, and the Nets' decision to bring in Simmons is a long-term initiative.

The bigger issue is Irving's future, the seven-time All-Star has a $36.9 million player option next season, and he's likely to refuse to execute and seek a long contract, and once he refuses to execute player option to become an unrestricted free agent, he will qualify for a five-year, $245.6 million contract with the Nets this summer.

And Owen has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay with the Nets and participate in team management: "As far as my contract extension is concerned, man, I'm really not going anywhere, I love playing with Kevin (Durant), and I think it really requires us to manage this team with Boss Cai and general manager Sean Max and family members in our organization. So it's not just about me and Kevin, I don't want to just for this. We're the cornerstone here, but we have Ben (Simmons) and we have a couple of other guys on contract. ”

If the Nets can keep Irving smoothly and Simmons get back to health, then in terms of paper strength alone, the Nets will be championship contenders for many years to come, but first they will have to keep everyone on the court longer at the same time. Signing Irving is a top priority for the Nets this summer, and they have several key role players who will enter the free agent market, including Bruce Brown, who has excelled on both ends of the first-round series against the Celtics, who will become unrestricted free agents alongside veterans Ramackus Aldridge, Black Griffin, Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic.

Young center Nicholas Clarkston will become a restricted free agent, and in terms of his potential, he will definitely receive offers from other teams, and the Nets, which are mired in luxury taxes, are likely to let him go because of salary pressures. Veteran guard Patty Mills also has a $6 million player option next season. Do you think the Nets still have a chance to compete for the championship? Who of these players mentioned above can they keep?