Ben Simmons returns to practice with 76ers; Doc Rivers says ‘when he’s ready, he’ll play’

Ben Simmons spent the vast majority of the offseason holding out within the hopes that he might pressure a commerce away from the Philadelphia 76ers, however the three-time All-Star finally relented and returned to the group. Now that he has cleared the NBA‘s COVID-19 protocols, he’s eligible to return to the ground for Philadelphia, and he did simply that on Sunday when he practiced with the group for the primary time since his commerce request. As awkward because the state of affairs might need been, the group was blissful to have him again. 

“We’re grown males right here,” Tobias Harris told reporters. “This isn’t center college, seventh grade, eighth grade, ‘Oh you probably did this to me.’ No. It is, as quickly as we step on that flooring it is simply basketball. Truthfully, that is the best way it ought to be.”

Whereas Simmons was in a position to apply with the group on Sunday, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers wouldn’t provide specifics on his return to sport motion. “Conditioning, simply watching him, I assumed he was in respectable form,” Rivers said. “He is nonetheless not clearly sport form as a result of you are able to do all of the stuff, however general, yeah … when he is prepared, he’ll play.”

Philadelphia opens its season towards the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, and whereas it is not clear whether or not or not Simmons will play, the 76ers want him to return to the ground finally if they will salvage this season. After spending the offseason attempting and failing to commerce him for a celebrity, Philadelphia’s choices transferring ahead are restricted. 

The 76ers might deal him for a bundle they do not at the moment discover passable, however at this stage, that seems unlikely. That signifies that their solely alternative for now’s to play him and hope that he both finally warms as much as the concept of remaining with the 76ers or that seeing him on the courtroom once more will increase his commerce worth sufficient to internet a passable return. The state of affairs stays unstable, however for now, getting Simmons again on the ground is in all people’s greatest curiosity.