Ben Simmons has not returned to his Rookie of the 12 months/All-Star stage of play from early in his profession, however he’s taking part in high quality protection whereas displaying off his passing expertise averaging 6.5 assists a sport for 9-10 Brooklyn this season. His former workforce, the Philadelphia 76ers, are off to a dreadful 3-14 begin to the season.
Do not mistake that for a “Simmons is coming again to Philly” reunion, however Simmons did name Joel Embiid and attempt to patch issues up, stories Ramona Shelburne of ESPN in a unbelievable story in regards to the 76ers’ gradual begin.
He’d even reached out to Embiid and others final summer season, league sources stated, hoping to fix fences. Simmons, who’s within the ultimate 12 months of his contract in Brooklyn, has proven how he can nonetheless impression a sport along with his passing, size and protection. However within the second quarter of the sport Friday, he additionally missed the rim on a layup in a clip that shortly went viral — reminding everybody of how his time in Philadelphia went awry. Might they ever attempt to determine it out collectively once more? One supply referred to as it unlikely, however stranger issues have occurred. Particularly with the Sixers.
Stranger issues have occurred, however within the case of the 76ers they must take care of a fan backlash in the event that they introduced again Simmons that might not be well worth the worth. Additionally, it isn’t like these two had been ever tight, Simmons had stated beforehand there was not a lot of a relationship between them even when he was in Philly.
Simmons will land a brand new contract with an NBA workforce subsequent offseason, however one a lot nearer to the league minimal than the $40 million a season he’s making this 12 months.
And it will not be in Philly.
