Sixers: Sit or play Ben Simmons?

Hate him or love him, Ben Simmons has done the unthinkable. He flew back to the City of Brotherly Love and is planning to return to the Sixers (at least for the time being). Now that the ball is in the team’s court, should they sit or play Simmons with the season starting next week?

There is a colossal impending decision for the Philadelphia 76ers organization as the 2021-2022 NBA season begins. For a quick recap, Ben Simmons said he would never play for the Sixers again and did not report to training camp, claiming he was willing to forfeit his entire $33 million salary. Then, the Sixers called his bluff and put a quarter of that money due to him in an escrow account. Finally, Simmons surprised the team and city by showing up Monday night unannounced.

Ben Simmons reported to the Sixers. Should he sit or play?

So here we are, less than one week away from the NBA season starting, and the Sixers organization has to decide whether to play or sit Simmons until a trade is available. Obviously, the main concern with playing Simmons is that he could get injured. That would be the worst possible scenario. The Sixers aren’t getting equitable offers now, just imagine what happens if Simmons gets hurt.

Another factor to consider is team chemistry. Even if publicly the Sixers organization and players have said they want Simmons to return, there is no way he can just walk in and play after the things he has said about Joel Embiid, Doc Rivers and the fans. He is toxic and even being in Philly could affect the rest of the players and the team’s success.

On the other hand, it could be said the best case scenario is Simmons plays and shows he improved his game — although I doubt that — thereby raising his trade value to where the team can get quality players in return and get him out of the city. And if the Sixers have meant everything they have said and truly want him back for more than just the short term, again I doubt this, then having Simmons play well would be exactly what they want.

To be frank, I don’t want Simmons to play or even be in Philly. I don’t think the Sixers ever thought Simmons would show up and that is why they withheld his pay and began assessing fines. Now that Simmons has called the team’s bluff back, I would pay just pay him his money and buy him a ticket on the first flight back to Los Angeles.

The fortunate part about all this situation is we will have answers to all the above issues within one week. The fact is Ben Simmons is back in town and going through the necessary protocols to return to the team. When the Sixers open the season against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 20th, we will all be patiently waiting to see if Simmons is in the starting lineup.