The Brooklyn Nets announced that power forward Ben Simmons left the team's home game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday with left knee soreness.

Simmons departed the game with six minutes and 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter. He finished the game scoreless but dished seven assists in 20 minutes. Patty Mills replaced him on the floor.

The 26-year-old hasn't seen the court much for the Nets since being traded to the team in the James Harden deal with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. Mental health and back issues kept him sidelined for the entire 2021-22 season, while knee soreness and a calf strain forced him to miss action in November and December.

"I think it's all related," Simmons told reporters on Dec. 6 regarding the possibility that his prior back issues were related to injury concerns this season. "When you start talking about back injuries, you start using different muscles, you want to load and lean or whatever it is. I think they all relate in some aspect."

The Australian said he expected he and the team would approach his return from an early-December absence with a bit more caution.

"I think we're definitely going to look at it a lot different," he said. "I don't know if it's measuring minutes, maybe not back-to-backs, whatever it is. I think that's going to be a joint thing with the training staff and myself, and letting them know how I'm feeling."

On the court, Simmons has had his issues as well. He fouled out of two of his first three games and entered Thursday averaging just 7.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.4 assists while shooting 57.4 percent from the field but 44.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The Nets, in turn, moved him to a role off the bench to offset the lack of shooting between him and starting center Nic Claxton. It's not exactly the banner start Simmons would have hoped for with his new team.

Nonetheless, he remains an elite defender and fantastic passer from the forward position. There isn't a true replacement for his particular impact, but Yuta Watanabe and T.J. Warren could be in line for a bump in minutes.