The Brooklyn Nets ruled Ben Simmons out for Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to left knee soreness.

Simmons will now miss three consecutive games with the injury.

Simmons said last Friday that he plans to get re-evaluated in a week. 

The Brooklyn Nets ruled Ben Simmons out for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Hawks, though Simmons could miss more time.

“We’re going to reevaluate it in about a week and see where I’m at. There’s some targets I need to hit and get to," said Simmons.

Simmons had fluid drained from the knee and a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection before the All-Star break. Simmons then said he felt pain after a couple practices.

Simmons added that he's been struggling with the injury the entire season.

"I haven’t been 100 percent all year. I just want to be on the court, regardless of what it is and whatever position I have. I’m just trying to give the team what I can," said Simmons.

Jacque Vaughn said that there were no discussions about shutting Simmons down for the season.

Ben Simmons is questionable for the Brooklyn Nets game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

Simmons hasn't started a game for the Nets since the trade deadline.

Simmons is currently averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on the season.

Kevin Durant is targeting March 1st as his return from a sprained MCL and his debut with the Phoenix Suns.

Durant suffered the injury on January 8th and was traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Suns ahead of the February 9th trade deadline.

Durant is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 36.0 minutes over 39 games this season

The Brooklyn Nets have signed head coach Jacque Vaughn to a multi-year extension through the 26-27 season. Vaught became the Nets head coach when Brooklyn fired Steve Nash earlier this season.

Vaughn has gone 32-19 while leading Brooklyn this season. He was previously 7-3 as the Nets interim head coach in the NBA bubble during the completion of the 2020 season.

Brooklyn players have praised Vaughn for his leadership, attention to detail and focus on defense since he took over for Nash. The Nets will now have him leading the sidelines as they retool their roster following trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the 2023 trade deadline.

Kevin Durant believes trade requests are "great for the league" because it brings more attention to the NBA and also gives players the opportunity to improve their situation.

"Teams have been trading players and making acquisitions for a long time," said Durant during his Saturday media availability at All-Star weekend. "Now a player can dictate where he wants to go, leave in free agency or demand a trade, it’s just part of the game now."

Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets to the Phoenix Suns before the deadline. It was Durant's second trade request in under a year though the first one was not granted.

Durant previously left the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors during his two prior free agency periods. 

Kyrie Irving echoed Durant's comments when he was asked the same question.

“When did it become terrible to make great business decisions for yourself, your happiness and your peace of mind?" said Irving. "Not every employer you’re going to get along with.”

Both the Dallas Mavericks and then the Brooklyn Nets turned down offers of multiple second rounds picks for Dorian Finney-Smith, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo.

The Nets acquired Finney-Smith from the Mavericks as part of the Kyrie Irving trade.

Finney-Smith signed an extension with the Mavericks in February 2022 worth $52 million over four years. 

Shortly before the Mavericks traded Finney-Smith, there was a report from Shams Charania linking him to the Utah Jazz. The Mavericks knew at that time it would take the inclusion of Finney-Smith to lead them to acquire a star player. 

Kevin Durant had his introductory press conference with the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, one week after he was traded by the Brooklyn Nets.

Durant said he ultimately pushed for a trade to Phoenix largely because Kyrie Irving put in his own trade request to get out of Brooklyn. Durant acknowledged that Irving's trade request "took away our identity" as a team.

"I was upset that we couldn't finish," Durant said. "I thought we had some good momentum. We were finally building a culture that we always wanted. I felt like every game we were building our chemistry, but I didn't know what was going on with Kyrie and his situation with the organization, so I didn't really focus on that. I only focused on what we were doing on the court, and it was a blow to our team. It just took away our identity. He was a huge, huge part to what we do. His game, he's a Hall of Fame player, a great, great player, that can do everything on the floor and we relied on that.

"So without him we didn't have a clear identity. So that was tough for me to stomach. I love playing with those guys throughout the year. I felt like we had dudes that were stepping up and doing stuff that they didn't do on their previous teams. So I enjoyed everything about it -- it was tough not finishing the season, but I just tried to move forward as quickly as I can and try to figure something out for myself, but also still focus on trying to rehab and get back. So it all happened so fast, but I'm glad it worked out this way."

When the Phoenix Suns and Cam Johnson discussed a contract extension before the 22-23 season, the two sides were unable to agree to terms. Johnson was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the Kevin Durant deal.

The Suns' best offer to Johnson was $72 million over four years. One year prior, the Suns signed Mikal Bridges to a four-year, $90 million extension. They were unable to sign Deandre Ayton to an extension that offseason. 

Johnson will be a restricted free agent this offseason with the Nets.

The Memphis Grizzlies pursued a trade for Mikal Bridges both before he was dealt from the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets and also afterwards.

Bridges is on a value contract at an annual average of $22 million and cannot become a free agent until 2026.

The Nets did not serious entertain offers for Bridges after they acquired him as part of the Kevin Durant trade with Phoenix. There will likely be many teams interested in trading for Bridges again this offseason should the Nets bring him to market.

Sources say the Grizzlies are a suitor to keep an eye on when it comes to Bridges. 

Memphis also pursued OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors.