Simmons out through at least Sunday with balky knee

CHICAGO — The Nets have put Ben Simmons’ sore left knee on a strengthening program, and have ruled him out through their game Sunday at Atlanta. But the 26-yearold said he’s liable to miss several more games.

“We’re going to reevaluate it in the about a week and see where I’m at. There’s some targets I need to hit and get to. From there on,” said Simmons, who missed his 17th game of the season on Friday — a 131-87 bludgeoning at the hands of the Bulls.

The Nets have games Sunday at Atlanta, Tuesday against the Bucks, and Wednesday at the rival Knicks.

Simmons had fluid in his left knee drained and a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection before the AllStar break. The hope was that it would ease the discomfort in his knee, but after a couple of practices, the pain flared up again.

“I had it drained right before All-Star. I also had a PRP,” Simmons said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s something that’s an injury I’ve never dealt with before. So it’s something I’m learning about, that we’re learning about.

“I didn’t have a normal All-Star [break]. I was rehabbing the whole time still, after the PRP. So my break was just rehabbing and it was trying to get back out there. And then obviously, we played fiveon-5-five three days ago, four days ago, which was good. But [I] wasn’t moving, I didn’t move and didn’t have that strength.”

Simmons missed all of last season with a herniated L-4 disk in his back and eventually required a microdiscectomy procedure in May.

The three-time All-Star, who has been robbed of his explosion, is averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 43.9 shooting from the charity stripe this season, all career-lows.

When Simmons was asked on Feb. 13 whether he had fluid on his knee or would need it drained, he said draining would not be necessary. But things apparently worsened.

Because he is on the Nets’ books for $37.9 million next season and $40.3 the following season, getting Simmons right is paramount.

“He did practice the last two days with us, which was great, then reported some soreness after those practices,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “At the end of the day, we collectively as an organization, as a group, with Ben, with the performance team, said it was an opportunity to kind of put him in a strengthening phase so that going forward once he gets the knee strengthened this isn’t a reoccurrence for us.

“He will not play these two games: That is a certainty . ... Then we’ll just kind of see how the knee responds.”

Vaughn insisted there have been no discussions of shutting Simmons down.

“Zero,” Vaughn said.