NBA season preview: 5 big questions for Philadelphia 76ers

1. Ben Simmons?

This one doesn’t need to be an actual question. It’s just Ben Simmons. His impending trade holds this entire team hostage until it goes through. Reporters will ask the players there what Simmons is thinking despite the fact he’s the one that isn’t there. This team is the Ben Simmons show no matter how much they don’t want it to be.

Simmons should have been traded by now. That much is clear. This team can’t move forward until it happens. Also, teams are solidifying their starting lineups right now. Will they really want to upend that for a player that looked like Simmons did during the playoffs last year? He looked far from the game-changer he was coming out of LSU. He looked scared.

Also, will Simmons show up to training camp? That would be a wild development, but he’s facing some pretty hefty fines, and they are only going to get worse once the regular season starts. So Simmons might actually play another game for the Sixers after all.

This whole thing is a mess. Simmons is a question mark on like 15 different levels for this Sixers team. How long are they willing to pull this charade? Will they start him if he returns? Is their wild asking price ever going down? So many questions and literally no answers. The Sixers can’t move forward this season unless they put the Ben Simmons saga behind them.