Ben Simmons Returning to the 76ers Is Quite Funny
Ben Simmons is back, baby! Where has he been for the first few weeks of Philadelphia 76ers training camp? Uh, don't worry about it! Just know that he's back and you found out around the same time the Sixers did.
Sources: Sixers were unaware Simmons was flying into Philadelphia today. The organization was in constant contact with agent Rich Paul, but Simmons simply showed up at arena to take his Covid test prior to Sixers-Nets tip -- and that's when team officials knew he was in town. https://t.co/j3cGnC6mgG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 12, 2021
So Ben Simmons is back and the communication has obviously been great. After last night's game Doc Rivers joked that he would have to talk to Adrian Wojnarowski about when Simmons would be available.
#Sixers coach Doc Rivers expects Ben Simmons to be back with the team later this week: pic.twitter.com/ChE5CHl7Vw
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) October 12, 2021
While Doc Rivers was in a joking mood, Joel Embiid simply insisted that the Sixers would be fine once Simmons was back in the mix. Sure, he wasn't able to get ahold of him over the summer, but you make some adjustments like saying "hello" for the first time in a few months and what's there to worry about?
#Sixers center Joel Embiid: ‘I tried (to talk to Ben Simmons), but I was unsuccessful. … There’s going to be some adjustments, but we’re going to be fine.’
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) October 12, 2021
Many people have compared Simmons to various George Costanza situations. They all fit. The only thing left to do is for Simmons to drop a giant ball of oil out a window, which will probably land as well as one of his jumpers. Hello!
There's no reason the Sixers can't make this work on the court. Simmons is very talented. He's shown he doesn't need to shoot threes for the Sixers to be a pretty darn good regular season team. Will those brief Instagram clips of him shooting actual outside shots ever translate to an NBA court? The Sixers will believe it when they see it.
It's not that Philly won't be able to produce similar results to the last few years, but it's just that this is funny. It's very funny. Ben Simmons said he wanted a trade and the Sixers didn't trade him and now he's back, presumably because he'd lose a bunch of money if he didn't come back. And it is awkward.
Things were said. And nothing has really changed. Simmons probably still wants a trade and it is fairly likely that Daryl Morey is still trying to trade Simmons. I'd say both those things are 100 percent true, but you never know for sure. And even if it is true, there's no guarantee that a trade ever happens. Maybe Simmons just has to go through the (non-shooting) motions in Philadelphia until his contract runs out in... four years? Holy jawn this is funny.