Ben Simmons went from messiah to pariah, faster than nearly anyone in Philadelphia sports history. One minute he is the savior of the city alongside Joel Embiid. Then he passes out of a dunk leading to his team losing. He follows that up by throwing a hissy fit all Summer long, and he becomes public enemy number 1. Everyone assumed when he was traded, that was the end of Ben Simmons and the Sixers forever. Which is fair. Usually, that is the type of thing that ends a relationship forever. But maybe not? Ben Simmons spoke recently and suggested that he may be interested in playing for the Sixers again.

This is what Ben Simmons said to Marc J. Spears from Andscape:

“I’ll always have love for Philly. People always ask me like, ‘If you were to get traded again where you want it to be?’ I always say, ‘Just Philly. Philly is a second home to me.”

I’m sorry, but what? A couple of years ago, you wanted nothing to do with Philly or the Sixers. You refused to even play or practice while awaiting a trade. He was telling his teammates not to come out to LA and see him. His agency at the time, Klutch Sports, was leaking nonsense to the media to try and make the Sixers look bad. Now you want to come back?

Is this Ben Simmons trolling us? Or did he mature over the last two seasons of barely playing Basketball and seeing his reputation as a basketball player take a nosedive? And if he did want to come back, would we even accept him? Philly fans have matured a bit, evident from how we treated a struggling Trea Turner. But accepting Ben Simmons back would be a whole new level for Philly fans, who have good reason to hold a grudge against the former Sixers All-Star.

Most likely, it is just him talking. Ben is not a fix to the problems the Sixers have, and we have seen this team flounder with him as the PG. Unless he finally decides to shoot, it is not clear how a 2nd run with Simmons would be any different than the first. So a reunion is not in store for the two sides any time soon. It is just another baffling chapter in the story that is Ben Simmons.

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• Why He Chose Philadelphia

  “There are 3 things you evaluate when you are lucky enough to have a choice. The roster, which I know from competing against, and really like it. The front office. I have known Daryl for a long time. His track record of putting together a roster speaks for itself. And then ownership, and you have great owners here.”

• His First Job As Coach

  “The first thing you have to do is get a vison for the season. You say the vison is to win a championship, and it is. But there are a lot of things in that vision. How you will play. How you do accountabillity. Philosophies. All kind of things go into that. That is the plan that follows that vison.”

• On If He Can Get More Out Of Embiid

  “Well I hope so. Each year a player needs to strive to get better. Getting more out of him means winning a championship. The numbers may not be the same but that doesn’t matter when you get to the playoffs. Getting a little bit out of him  and some other guys will be important.”

• On Tyrese Maxey

  “I think he has a super bright future. He has a combination of a bunch of things that make him exciting. First of all he loves the game. His work ethic. He has a tremendous amount of god given ability. And he is getting better fast. If he can continue to stay with things, I think he has a super super bright future.”

• On How Aggressive His Defense Will Be

  “I like to be aggressive an put pressure and take things away. Our coaching staff will do a good job of designing schemes. But it’s a little bit too early. All it needs to do is what fits them.  Hopefully at times when we need it it is really nasty. At certain points that defense needs to be tough. Defense still wins.”

• On What Kind Of Human Being He Is

  “First off all, I am the youngest of 9. That environment is very good for becoming a basketball coach You wake up and you are fighting for a bowl and some cereal. That is what it feels like when the ball goes up. I instinctively kick in to start fighting for a win. When people leave the game, I hope people are saying those guys played hard. They did everything they could to win the game. That is the main focus of my job. To max out the effort and max out what guys are capable of.”

• On Philly Fans

  “I have experienced it, playing here all the time. We like it. The energy in that arena is unique and special. Hopefully we can use that as a positive.”

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