Ben Simmons is expected to miss at least the next three games with a left lateral upper calf strain.

Simmons was most recently dealing with soreness and swelling in his knee.

Simmons is averaging 9.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 28.1 minutes per game.

Ben Simmons will miss the Brooklyn Nets game against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday due to left knee soreness.

Simmons suffered the injury on Monday against the Magic. 

Jacque Vaughn declared Simmons day-to-day following the game. 

Kevin Durant scored 45 points in Monday's win by the Brooklyn Nets over the Orlando Magic, which led a reporter to ask him if he's hoping to win MVP for the second time in his career.

"Not really. I've been there, done that, to be honest, and I know it's gonna take a lot for me to be in that conversation," Durant said. "I just want the respect from our fan base, and I want them to have a good time when they come to the game, so if that's what strikes chants up is how I play from the fans, as long as they're having a good time. But I'm not too worried about accolades at this point in my career."

Durant won MVP in 2014 and has also won Finals MVP in 2017 and 2018.

Ben Simmons left the Brooklyn Nets' 109-102 win over the Orlando Magic in the second quarter due to left knee soreness and did not return.

Jacque Vaughn didn't think Simmons would need an MRI and declared the swingman as day-to-day.

"We'll check him day by day, see how he responds with a little treatment. See what it looks like (Tuesday)," said Vaughn.

Vaughn added that he believes the injury is due to an accumulation of games. 

"No, I think more so than anything the accumulation of games. He hasn't had this amount of accumulation of games over a period of a long time," said Vaughn.

Brooklyn Nets forward T.J. Warren is targeting December 2 to make his season debut. The Nets face the Toronto Raptors on that date.

Warren will have missed the Nets first 23 games of this season if he plays against Toronto as planned. The Nets versatile forward has been recovering from a left foot injury suffered in 2020.

Warren hasn't appeared in an NBA game since December 29, 2020. The veteran forward went on to miss the rest of the 2020-21 season and the entire 2021-22 season for the Indiana Pacers. This offseason, Warren joined the Nets on a veteran minimum contract.

Brooklyn Nets forward T.J. Warren might finally be inching towards a return. Warren has progressed past going against coaches in practice and has been playing 3-on-3 against other players.

There is still no timetable for Warren's return, but he's advancing through the process for the Nets. Brooklyn signed Warren to a one-year, veteran minimum contract this offseason.

Warren last appeared in an NBA game on December 29, 2020. After a terrific run in the bubble to close 2019-20, Warren played in the Indiana Pacers first four games of the 2020-21 season. He was then shut down with foot soreness. That injury cost Warren the entire 2021-22 season and the start to this season.

Ben Simmons was in a joking mood about his return to Philadelphia. When asked about returning to his first NBA home to play the 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets big man playfully played it off.

"I'm ready to play," he said, before adding, "Something going on?" causing the assembled media to break into laughter.

Simmons again joked when asked if there's been enough time for any hard feelings Sixers fans may have for him to have passed, by saying "In Philly?"

Simmons then got serious about what he knows he's facing.

"I know what's coming. That's part of the game. Philly fans, one thing about Philly fans is they are incredible. They are die-hard Philly and they are everything Philly, whatever it is. I respect that about the city. It's a sports town. I was talking to I think Yuta (Watanabe) before the game about what it's like to play in Philly, and it's an incredible opportunity to put on whatever jersey it is.

"That's Philly, and it's a unique experience."

Simmons then added he's got a lot of love for Philadelphia.

"I was 18 years old coming into Philly, so it's really the only place I've lived as an adult. So I have a lot of love for that city," he said. "People don't know that, but a lot of my best friends are from Philadelphia. My brother still lives in Philadelphia. So regardless of the situation, whatever happened, happened. But I got a lot of love for that city still, so I look forward to going down there and playing."

Kyrie Irving has been cleared to make his return for the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday vs the Memphis Grizzlies. Irving has missed the last eight games while suspended by the Nets.

Irving was suspended following sharing a link to an anti-Semitic film. Brooklyn's governor Joe Tsai set a list of criteria Irving had to complete before he would be allowed to return. Irving has completed all those tasks and will rejoin the Nets as they head home from a west coast trip.

Brooklyn went 5-3 with Irving out of the lineup. For the season, the Nets sit at 7-9 on the season.

Ben Simmons had his best game for the Brooklyn Nets in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. Simmons finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes off the Brooklyn bench.

Following his 6-for-6 shooting performance, Simmons told the media that he's just getting started.

"I'm coming," Simmons said. "I'm getting there, man. It's taking a little bit of time, but I got my own back. My teammates got my back, my coaches."

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn had praise for Simmons' effort off the bench, especially Simmons' versatile defense.

"It's very encouraging," Vaughn said of Simmons' performance. "Most minutes he's played, really responded well. ... Kind of what we envisioned him doing everything for us. The defensive versatility of guarding [Jusuf] Nurkic and also Damian Lillard. A lot of people can't do that. And we can continue to grow with him and understand him, his game, how he benefits, with who. It's very encouraging."

Kyrie Irving is expected to be cleared to return to game action on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center.

Irving will be coming off what became a team-mandated suspension that lasted eight games for posting a link to a film with antisemitic materials.

Sources tell Shams Charania that both sides are happy with what Irving has done throughout the process, especially given the number of community leaders he has met with.

Irving chose to go “above and beyond” what was asked of him, said one source.

Irving met with Silver on Nov. 8, with sources describing a “productive and understanding” visit in New York City. Two days later, Irving and his family met with Nets co-owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai.

“(The Anti-Defamation League) never set the terms for Kyrie’s return. At the end of the day, it is up to the Nets, the NBA and the union to figure out whether it’s appropriate for him to return or not,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told The Athletic on Thursday.

“I can say from my point of view that I take Kyrie at his word that he is truly sorry and that he’s willing to put in the work to educate himself and engage in constructive dialogue. I also trust that the Nets, the NBA and the union are making the right call and if they’re satisfied, I have no reason not to be.”

A source close to the Anti-Defamation League added that the ADL does not believe Irving is antisemitic.