Groundhog Day: Ben Simmons welcomes summer with new workout photos

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today. That's right, woodchuck-chuckers — it's ... GROUNDHOG DAY!

Ben Simmons played just 15 games for the Nets last season, because of a nerve impingement in his lower back. But he's back in the gym, looking sharp in some well-lit photos on social media as he gets ready to bring the Nets back to contention.

If this feels vaguely familiar, it may be because you've seen this one before. Last summer, coming off a 42-game campaign for the Nets shortened by a knee injury, video started circulating of him dominating in offseason runs and draining 3-pointers.

Of course, that video was just a sequal to the one that dropped before the 2021-22 season when, of course, he didn't play at all because of a trade demand given to the 76ers and a variety of injuries once he was actually traded to the Nets.

Impressive images and videos of Ben Simmons' offseason workouts are an annual summer tradition, like hearing the first jingle of the ice cream truck as it comes rumbling up your street, or the smell of marshmallows roasting over an open fire. They're lovely but, like smores and ice cream trucks, they're not really a year-long thing.

Ben Simmons is barely hanging on to his NBA career

Over the past three seasons, Simmons has appeared in a total off 55 NBA games. He hasn't played in more than 60 games since the 2018-19 season. He's done almost nothing to address his primary weaknesses — he's shot 43.1 percent from the free throw line with the Nets, made just 12 shots total from beyond 10 feet from the basket and steal appears to consider scoring as an offensive outcome of last resort.

Simmons is under contract for exactly one more season, for $40 million. Recent history says he won't be playing a whole lot and even if he's healthy there's no reason for the Nets to consider investing in him as part of their long-term future.

Unless something changes, dramatically, this could be his last season in the NBA. At least then he'll have time to fully devote himself to producing these epic workout videos.