Woj: Kevin Durant could return Monday, Ben Simmons won't debut in Philadelphia

Nets Daily: Woj: Kevin Durant could return as early as Monday. Its up to KD. He’s looked terrific in practice. Nets will not debut Ben Simmons in Philly. Joe Harris is “playing.”
Source: Twitter @NetsDaily

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Now on @ForbesSports
Kevin Durant Expected To Return This Week For Brooklyn Nets via @forbes forbes.com/sites/adamzago… – 12:55 AM Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
Kyrie really showed his greatness. 38 points in 39 minutes on the road against a great defense without Durant and Simmons after sitting out two weeks. Full-time Kyrie would have had the best season of his career. – 11:39 PM Barbara Barker @meanbarb
Nash said it’s likely KD will be out both games against the Raptors. Circle Miami Thursday. – 11:35 PM Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Nash says it is “likely” that KD will be out both Monday and Tuesday against the Raptors. – 11:34 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Steve Nash said it’s likely Kevin Durant doesn’t play in either game against Toronto. – 11:33 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Steve Nash said it’s likely that Kevin Durant wont play either game vs. the #Raptors. #Nets – 11:33 PM StatMuse @statmuse
Kyrie Irving tonight:
38 PTS
5 REB
5 AST
14-26 FG
W in Milwaukee without Durant or Simmons. pic.twitter.com/s1FnKmKm7p – 11:26 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Kevin Durant yelling down the tunnel as he heads toward the locker room: “That’s a Brooklyn Nets win right there.” – 11:26 PM Ryan McDonough @McDNBA
Huge win for the Nets
They’re now 3.5 games out of 6th (avoiding Play-In) with 19 games remaining – and Kevin Durant looking likely to return soon – 11:25 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Final: Nets beat the Bucks 126-123. Kyrie Irving was brilliant with 38. Goran Dragić showed how he can help this team and BK has just it’s second win against a top-four seed this year. Coverage coming. Do we see Mr. Durant back on Monday? – 11:22 PM Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Nets run off massive quarter but the Bucks respond. Shaping out to be a tremendous fourth quarter. If only KD was on the floor. – 10:24 PM Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
The Nets have run up a 13-point lead here in the third quarter over the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Kevin Durant, Joe Harris and Ben Simmons are not playing tonight. – 10:11 PM Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
The Nets have hung tough all night — now they’re hitting a few shots and have the lead. Kyrie and Seth have combined for 35 points. As bad as all the losing is, it remains scary to think how much more space they’re going to get when KD and Simmons are back on the floor. – 10:03 PM The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
Ben Simmons’ season debut with the Nets is reportedly delayed by back soreness.
https://t.co/meo1MVCEII pic.twitter.com/NsLiKbspug – 9:00 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Greetings from Milwaukee. It’s cold. Nets-Bucks tip shortly. Goran Dragić makes his debut tonight off the bench. Second unit has him with Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge, a hint of the rotation come full strength. Is this the Nets’ last game before KD come back? Updates comin’. – 8:27 PM Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Steve Nash on Ben Simmons: “It’s not like an injury. It’s just as he’s returning to play his back’s flared up a little bit.
And then, he finishes with:
“But it’s not a long-term thing.” – 7:23 PM Dave Early @DavidEarly
Steve Nash confirmed Ben Simmons is dealing with “a little back soreness.”
Adds “Yeah, he hasn’t played a game since June, so that’s just part of his process of trying to play…as you ramp up you’re subject to certain things as you would be with muscle soreness.”
#NetsWorld – 7:10 PM Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Steve Nash says “there was no incident” after Kevin Durant’s second high-intensity workout this morning. Durant must clear one more without incident to clear Brooklyn’s return-to-play benchmarks. #Nets – 7:05 PM Dave Early @DavidEarly
Steve Nash likened Ben Simmons issue to the type of muscle soreness any player might get ramping up from a long layoff spanning back to June.
Didn’t seem like he’s very concerned Simmons sustained a new, significant injury during reconditioning. – 7:03 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Steve Nash said Ben Simmons is dealing with some back soreness, but nothing beyond what would be expected for somebody who hasn’t played since June. #nets – 7:03 PM Mark Deeks @MarkDeeksNBA
Ben Simmons has mental illness and a sore back? Looks like I’ve found my new most relatable player. – 7:02 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Steve Nash confirms @Shams Charania report on Ben Simmons, says he has “a little back soreness.” Doesn’t consider it an injury, just something that has come up as he gets back into form. – 7:02 PM Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Steve Nash categorizes Ben Simmons’ back issue as “just a little soreness.” #Nets – 7:01 PM Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Sources: Nets star Ben Simmons is dealing with back soreness in reconditioning process that requires further strengthening of the area over a period of time before return to action. – 6:39 PM CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Kevin Durant injury update: Nets star expected to return to lineup next week
cbssports.com/nba/news/kevin… – 3:52 PM Bob Garcia @bgarciaivsports
Kobe Bryant once sneakily attempted to get Russell Westbrook to beef with Kevin Durant.
#Lakers #LakeShow #NBA
sportscasting.com/kobe-bryant-tr… – 2:08 PM Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Goran Dragic ia available tonight for the Nets
So is Kyrie
No KD, Ben Simmons or Joe Harris – 1:55 PM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Steve Nash says KD should play in the next week. #nets – 12:24 PM Barbara Barker @meanbarb
Goran Dragic makes Nets debut at Bucks tonight. Nash says KD could be back in next week. – 12:11 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Steve Nash has no updates on Joe Harris. Adds Kevin Durant will return within the next week. – 12:05 PM Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Steve Nash says Ben Simmons has yet to partake in a high intensity workout, which is a big barometer for his return. He’s doing skill work, physio and individual work. – 12:04 PM Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Nash says that KD is out tonight — but he is confident he’ll be back within the next week. Nash says he’s getting better every day. – 11:58 AM Gery Woelfel @GeryWoelfel
Tonight’s Nets-Bucks game:
No Durant.
No Simmons.
No Harris.
Kind of reminds of an Eastern Conference playoff series last season. – 10:57 AM Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Post Sports+: Kevin Durant’s due date? Kyrie Irving’s eligible games? Inside the biggest #Nets variables nypost.com/2022/02/26/ins… via @nypost – 10:53 AM Jon Johnson @jonjohnsonwip
Three pointers in Sixers uni:
James Harden – 5 (Friday night)
Ben Simmons – 5 (275 games) – 8:05 AM StatMuse @statmuse
Career threes as a Sixer:
5 — James Harden in 1 game
5 — Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/yBPWQAzkV8 – 11:41 PM Chris Biderman @TheWarriorsWire
Warriors Wire lists the team’s top salary for each season since 1990-91, including Chris Mullin, Baron Davis, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. warriorswire.usatoday.com/lists/who-was-… – 10:00 PM

More on this storyline

Nets head coach Steve Nash said Kevin Durant is getting closer to returning from his knee sprain. “Every day closer,” Nash said, via ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “We’ll see. I expect in the next week he’ll be back for sure. It could be quick; it could be the whole week barring any setbacks.” -via Sports Illustrated / February 26, 2022 “I think with Kevin he’s been a great healer throughout his career,” Nash said. “So the No. 1 thing is to get him back healthy and feeling secure in his health and his body so he can move and be free. When he’s back, obviously he adds a ton to our team on both ends of the floor…one of the greatest scorers of all time. And we also know he helps us defensively; he gives us more size and length. So he’s a big miss for us, and whenever he gets back, he’ll impact our team.” -via Sports Illustrated / February 26, 2022 Brian Lewis: Kevin Durant went through a second high intensity workout today. If he comes through this and then a third OK, he could be cleared to play. #Nets #NBA -via Twitter @NYPost_Lewis / February 26, 2022