Ben Simmons Injury Status vs Blazers

Now, Simmons has officially been cleared to suit up.

Forward Cameron Johnson and point guard D'Angelo Russell will suit up, as well. Center Nic Claxton will sit.

Simmons, once an All-NBA star on the rise with the Philadelphia 76ers before his offense cratered and his back injuries hurt his consistency, has been relatively healthy (for him) this year so far. He once finished 12th in MVP voting and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The young man's decline has been stunning to witness.

In 2024-25, Simmons has appeared in 28 contests for the Nets (22 starts), more than he cumulatively did in two of the last three seasons. Simmons is averaging 6.3 points on 55.9 percent shooting from the field and 71.4 percent shooting from the foul line, 7.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks a night.

Brooklyn continues to shed veteran salaries in exchange for cap space and draft equity. The Nets have already ditched Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schroder, and Shake Milton across two deals. The $18.7 million deal of one new trade acquisition, Russell, comes off Brooklyn's books this summer.

Simmons is another vet who could theoretically have value across the league, although he is on an expiring contract himself and could be obtained for far cheaper on the open market than his current $40.3 million deal in 2024-25. It will be fascinating to see what his market is in the future.

The game figures to be a battle of wills, between two clubs whose respective front offices are desperately rooting for losses amid roster rebuilds.

At 13-26, the Nets possess the sixth-best odds of landing the best pick in what looks to be a possibly loaded 2025 NBA Draft. The Trail Blazers are mere percentage points better, 13-25, meaning they have the seventh-best odds.

This evening's battle could be a sort of double-win for either side: with a loss, a team has the opportunity to both improve its own chances of nabbing a top pick and hurts the odds for its nearest rival in the race.

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