Well, Ben Simmons is back with the Philadelphia 76ers after a somewhat dramatic hold-out. There’s still a level of uncertainly when and if he will actually play for the franchise this upcoming season.
However, let’s work under the assumption that he does play for the club, then what? What version of Simmons will the Sixers get if he’s on the court? Let’s go to the most unlikely scenario that not only does he play, but he has a career year.
What if the Philadelphia 76ers get the best version of Simmons this year.
Whether something clicks in Simmons head proving to him just how dominant he can be or he just wants to troll the 76ers fans before he gets traded, there’s a chance he could go off this year. He could come in and show off a full range of offensive skills.
Does that mean he will shoot jump shots? Maybe, this is just speculation so it’s hard to say, but if he did, he could do it because he finally feels comfortable to do so, or as previously stated, it could be just to troll fans. He’s trolled fans like during this offseason and previous ones where he would post videos of him making plenty of jumpers but not doing it during the regular season.
That being written, if he does take jumpers doesn’t mean he will make them and that could be another way to troll fans. Just keep that in mind if he does take that route.
Simmons could come in and play like he’s never had before and it could do nothing to do with the Sixers. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to stay with the 76ers. It’s clear his first tactic to get out of town didn’t work so maybe playing at a high level could expedite the process.
He could decide to play better to spite fans, to speed up the trade process, or to change the narrative about him on the offensive side of the ball. Regardless of the reason why, if Simmons plays and performs better than he ever has, the Philadelphia 76ers would welcome the production, even if it is just for the short term. However, don’t expect this to happen and if he does play better, it’s not for the fans’ sake.