Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons was recently diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his back. That injury will keep him out indefinitely, but Nets coach Jacque Vaughn is being realistic about Simmons' timeline to return.

“For me as a coach, there’s some things that I can control, some things that I can’t control,” Vaughn said. “What I can’t control is the impingement. What I can control is getting this group ready to play. And then in all honesty, the realism that he’s probably not going to join us for the rest of the year ... certainty will come once he continues to be looked at by specialists.”

After missing all of last season due to a holdout with the Philadelphia 76ers and subsequent back injury, Simmons appeared in 42 games for the Nets this season. He averaged career-lows across the board with 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.