Ben Simmonsβ latest tweet appears to be in responseΒ to aΒ rumor involving him and hisΒ Brooklyn NetsΒ teammates.Β
Ric Bucher recently stopped by FS1βs The Herd with Colin Cowherd and shared an alleged story about Simmons leaving the teamβs group chat after being asked if he was going to play in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics. βThey asked him, βAre you going to play?β Ben left the chat,β Bucher said. βLike, he didnβt even answer the question, just left the chat. And KD [Nets teammate Kevin Durant] is like, this is what I signed up forβ¦this is who Iβm playing with?βΒ
βSlow news day,β Simmons tweeted after Bucherβs appearance, along with a crying laughing emoji.Β
ESPNβs Adrian Wojnarowski reported ahead of Game 3 that Simmons planned on playing in Game 4 for somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes. The Nets star had already been ruled out for Game 3 due to lingering back issues, but appeared to be making strides towards a return by participating in scrimmages with the team.
At the time, Simmons classified his injury to reporters as βday-to-day,β and acknowledgedΒ he was primarily determined toΒ βjust keep building up to get back on the floor and play at that high level,β adding, βIf I could play right now, Iβd be on the court. So it is what it is.β When he didnβt play in Game 4, Simmons was criticized with ESPNβs Stephen A. Smith leading the charge, calling the former No. 1 overall pick a βquitterβ and alleging league owners will use his situation in their argument for a pay-for-play stipulation forΒ the nextΒ collective bargaining agreement.Β
Less than two weeks after the Nets were eliminated from the playoffs, Shams Charania of The AthleticΒ reported Simmons would undergo a procedureΒ to alleviate the pain from a herniated disc in his back.Β
The Simmons reportΒ comes shortly afterΒ Kevin DurantΒ reportedly toldΒ Nets owner Joseph Tsai that he must decide between keeping himΒ or general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash.Β