As the Philadelphia 76ers get set to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, all eyes will be on the Ben Simmons saga as he gets set to make his return to the Wells Fargo Center. While Simmons won’t play in the game, it will be his first time in the building as he will sit on the bench with his new team.
Simmons may be gone now, but the focus on the 25-year old 3-time All-Star remains. When he was finally moved to the Nets for James Harden back on Feb. 10, it ended a very long saga that started in June of 2021 when the Sixers were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the semifinals.
Simmons took a lot of criticism for his poor play in the playoffs and the trade rumors then began firing off before he had enough and officially requested a trade in August. What followed was him showing up to the team, then getting kicked out of practice, and then stepping away due to not being mentally ready to play and he didn’t play before being moved.
Danny Green opened up about the Simmons saga as he joined “The Ryen Russillo Podcast”: