The holdout in the City of Brotherly Love has officially come to an end. On Monday night, it was announced that Ben Simmons returned to the Wells Fargo center to rejoin his teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons has been mentioned in several trade rumors over the past few months due to his desire to leave Philadelphia. However, the 76ers haven’t found a team willing to meet their asking price.
With the trade market being pretty dormant at the moment, Simmons has decided to return to the team. According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, a major reason why Simmons is back is because he could lose a lot more money if he continues to sit out.
Wojnarowski also mentioned that Simmons “wants to prove a point,” albeit that statement is a bit vague.
“Why return now? Simmons is described as wanting to prove a point, and knowing he had done so with something that almost never happens in the NBA: sitting out training camp, costing himself nearly $1 million in lost salary and fines, and delivering an unmistakable message that he wanted a trade out of Philadelphia,” Wojnarowski wrote, via ESPN. “The Sixers scoured the league but never came close to finding a deal that returned them the kind of elite player they’d want in exchange for Simmons, sources said. The trade market can shift quickly once the regular season gets underway — and more players become eligible to be moved on Dec. 15 — but the Sixers have no traction on a trade now, sources said.”
Final ESPN story on Ben Simmons’ surprise return to the 76ers on Monday night: https://t.co/8V0UyhYAK8
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 12, 2021
Simmons and the 76ers are expected to have conversations in the near future to discuss where they stand with one another.
The 76ers should find out this week if Simmons is open to potentially staying with the franchise for the long haul. If not, they’ll have to continue looking at offers on the trade market.
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