Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons is ready to take the next step in his recovery by practising against teammates, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Simmons has been limited 1-on-0 training sessions up to this point.
Wojnarowski says Simmons has had a week of pain-free running and shooting, and hope remains he could make his debut in the first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
On Thursday, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Simmons was targeting a return between April 25 and 29, which is within the range of Games 4-to-6.
Simmons hasn't played since last season's playoffs, when he was a member of the Philadephia 76ers. Simmons did not show up to 76ers training camp to start this season, demanded a trade out of Philadelphia, subsequently sitting out all regular games until he was traded. The 76ers withheld nearly $20 million of Simmons' salary over that span, which he recently filed a grievance about, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Bobby Marks and Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 76ers dealt the three-time All-Star to the Nets in a blockbuster for James Harden at the NBA's trade deadline, but Simmons still has yet to play a game. The 25-year-old received an epidural shot for a herniated disk in March, but has resumed practising.
Nets head coach Steve Nash had previously ruled out a Simmons return for the play-in game, which Brooklyn won over the Cleveland Cavaliers to secure the No. 7 seed. Before that game, he said there was "no timetable for his return."
The Nets-Celtics series begins on Sunday.
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