Simmons dealing with back soreness in reconditioning process

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons is dealing with back soreness as he goes through a reconditioning process to work his way back to NBA action, head coach Steve Nash said, according to the New York Post's Brian Lewis.

Simmons needs to strengthen the ailing area in his back before he's ready to make his much-anticipated Nets debut, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Nash downplayed the need for concern with Simmons' setback.

"It's not like an injury," Nash said, according to The Associated Press. "It's just kind of like as he's returning to play, his back's flared up a little. It's not like a long-term thing."

The 25-year-old Australian hasn't played in a game since last postseason. Prior to joining the Nets, Simmons was amid a season-long holdout after demanding a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason.

Simmons, the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up last campaign, arrived in Brooklyn as part of a blockbuster trade with the 76ers centered around 2018 MVP and three-time scoring champion James Harden. There's no specific timetable for Simmons' return, though the Nets are handling his reconditioning on a day-to-day basis, Charania notes.

After getting off to a hot start, Brooklyn has dropped down the standings of late and finds itself sitting eighth in the East with a 31-29 record. The Nets are expected to get a major boost in the immediate future, as Kevin Durant is planning to return from his MCL sprain within the next week, Nash said, per ESPN's Nick Friedell.