PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons arrived at a quiet Wells Fargo Center Thursday morning for shootaround with his new team. When he returns a few hours later, the atmosphere inside that building will surely be much more emotionally charged.
Simmons will not play in the first 76ers-Nets game since the blockbuster trade a month ago that sent Simmons (along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks) to Brooklyn for James Harden and Paul Millsap. Yet Simmons is expected to join his teammates on the Nets’ bench — and to be the target of vocal Sixers fan vitriol.
“I hope he enjoys it,” Nets coach Steve Nash said following shootaround. “How many people in this world get to go in an arena and get booed by the entire place? I had it done to me, and I thought it was a privilege. I hope he enjoys the experience. His future is in Brooklyn. Philly has moved on. And it’s a basketball game, so let’s go out there and enjoy it.”
Simmons has not yet played for the Nets due to a back flare-up that has prevented him from practicing with his new team enough for the organization to feel comfortable with him playing. He also never took the floor for the Sixers this season after demanding a trade last summer, then citing that he was not mentally ready to play. A report by the Philly Voice earlier this week said that Simmons’ camp is expected to file a grievance soon to try to recoup fines he received for missing team activities, and that Thursday’s fan behavior could be used as evidence.
When asked when Simmons’ back could be healthy enough to play, Nash said “I don’t know … our performance [staff] evaluates him.”
“He’s just been trying to get his back in a position where we’re safe for the long haul,” Nash said. " … He’s progressing nicely. There’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel there, but he’s not ready to play right now.”
Drummond said that Simmons was “shooting jump shots” as the Nets wrapped shootaround. But further comments by the veteran big man, whose first season in Philly was ended by the trade, perhaps shed some light on the disconnect between Simmons and the Sixers in the months leading up to the deal.
“What he did obviously is none of my business,” Drummond said. “I wasn’t there for it. But he’s my teammate now, and he seems to be in a good space.”
