All offseason long, the Philadelphia 76ers have been surrounded by drama due to the situation they have been going through with Ben Simmons. While it seemed like there was no chance he would return, those feelings have changed. Simmons has returned to the team and seems ready to play, and teammate Danny Green spoke out about having Simmons back.
Even though Simmons is a great talent, there are many who are angry with him for the way he has handled his standoff with the 76ers. Green did not seem to feel one way or the other about the situation.
In a quote shared by Sports Illustrated, Green spoke out about Simmons returning to the 76ers and whether or not the disgruntled star should issue an apology to his teammates.
“I mean, if he does, he does — if he doesn’t, he doesn’t,” Green explained. “That doesn’t matter to us at this point. We just want everybody to come here, show up, and do their part. Do their jobs. I’m not asking him to do anything different than he normally does. Show up to work and do what you normally do because what he normally does, we’re very effective. And we’re very good at it. We were the number one team in the East.”
That is quite the response from Green. He did not show one way or the other how the team is feeling. Nor, for that matter, should we be expecting him to air anything out in public.
Getting Simmons back on the court certainly makes the 76ers a better all-around team. He may struggle offensively, but Simmons is one of the best defenders in the game.
Last season, Simmons ended up averaging 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Philadelphia was the best team in the East, as Green mentioned, but had a meltdown against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs. That kind of collapse simply cannot happen.
While Simmons has come back to the 76ers and is expected to get back on the court, it seems likely that the franchise will remain open to a potential trade. Just like the Houston Rockets did with James Harden, they will see how things go early in the year. If things continue souring, they may be forced to trade Simmons.
According to Sports Betting Dime, the odds remain intact at +2000 keeping them within the Top 8 to win the title, for PA locals it’s worth mentioning that Pennsylvania’s sports betting regulations remain friendly if you were thinking of wagering on the 76ers.
It will be interesting to see how Danny Green and the 76ers welcome Ben Simmons back. Will they go back to playing well together and being a dominant contender in the Eastern Conference? Only time will give us the answer to that question.
