Nets’ Ben Simmons knows it will take time to get back to his old self

The first two preseason games showed just how much of a work in progress the 2022-23 Nets are. And none of the players has to make more progress than Ben Simmons.

The three-time All-Star is not only adjusting to a new team and new scheme, but also he is playing in games for the first time since the 2020-21 playoffs. Simmons has a long way to get back to his old self — and even he can’t say exactly how long.

“I don’t know. That’ll just come,” Simmons said. “Obviously, having back surgery and rehabbing, there’s a lot of things that physically I want to do that I’m not doing right now: getting to the rim, getting hit, things like that, and hitting other people. But that’s all going to come. We’ve got time. So in due time, it’ll come.”

Simmons in a loss to Miami, he had four points, four assists and 10 rebounds, but he committed six turnovers.

“I’m extremely excited about Ben, but it’s just not going to happen overnight,” coach Steve Nash said of Simmons, who has career averages of 15.9 points, 8.1 boards and 7.7 assists.

“It’s a new group, new style of play, new roles, new teammates, new offense, new defense. All that stuff takes time. … We’re talking nine days in, two preseason games, he hasn’t played basketball in [a year].”

He hasn’t played since June 20, 2021, to be exact. He missed last season with mental health struggles and a herniated disk that required surgery.

Simmons acknowledged he needed to not only cut down his turnovers, but he also needs to be more aggressive. He took just three shots against the Heat, not nearly enough for a Nets team that was shorthanded, with Irving, Joe Harris and Seth Curry all out.

“We definitely want Ben to be more aggressive and look to score, especially if we’ve got a small [defender] in the post. You feel like you have an advantage there, him going downhill in transition, all that stuff,” said Kevin Durant, who has experienced coming back after a yearlong layoff himself.

“He’s just finding his rhythm again. He hasn’t played in a long time, and to throw you back up in there with the game going fast, you can play pickup all you want but once you put someone in the game all that stuff goes out the window. So he’s getting his legs, quick move here and he’s figuring it out.”

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Simmons had several possessions in the paint against small Heat guards in which he elected to pass back out rather than use his size to post up. Striking that balance and figuring when to do each will be a process.

“Looking at the box score, I took three shots, which is definitely not enough,” Simmons said. “Obviously offensively, I want to get to the post more, get some more touches down low, be more aggressive, get to the rim, get to the free throw line, which I didn’t do [Thursday]. There’s a lot of things that we can look at.”

After logging 19 minutes Monday in the preseason opener, Simmons played 25:23 on Thursday. The Nets have preseason games at Minnesota and Milwaukee before the Oct. 19 regular-season opener, but Simmons will likely still be adjusting well past that.

“He’s going to grow in that respect. He’s going to get more attempts,” Nash said. “Right now obviously it’s a little clunky for us, especially we’re missing some guys who space the floor and put pressure on the defense.

“Ben will be fine. He’ll improve. He’s going to get better every night, and he’s going to be an engine for us and a big part of what we do, so I’m not worried about him. But it is a process. He hasn’t played for a long time and he’s also assimilating to a new group. That takes time. It’s not going to be perfect, and it probably won’t be any time soon. But if we can keep improving every day that’s all we ask for.”