Ben Simmons plants seeds for cursed 76ers reunion as season plummets into drain

The Philadelphia 76ers are 3-13, owners of the second-worst record in the entire NBA. For a team that handed out three max contracts this summer and hit on the current Rookie of the Year favorite with the 16th pick, that seems... bad.

Well, it is. Not much has gone right for the Sixers, who have been plagued by injuries and off-court distractions from the jump. Joel Embiid has been at the center of two league investigations, suspended, hurt on-and-off, and the subject of criticism in team meetings. When your best player has appeared in four games (all losses) and seems more concerned with a locker room snitch than getting on the court, it's hard to win games.

Most of Philadelphia's issues this season lie beyond its control, but it's hard not to knock Nick Nurse for the Sixers' god-awful execution on both ends. Even with the spate of injuries, Philadelphia has had at least one max All-Star and the upstart Jared McCain for all of these games. The Sixers are lucky to be in such a bad conference, but 3-13 is unacceptable. Something has to change.

Life hasn't been much better for the Brooklyn Nets, but that team is bad on purpose. Brooklyn recently visited Philadelphia for an NBA Cup game, which meant Ben Simmons was back on the Wells Fargo Center court for a brief moment. He logged two points, four rebounds, and four assists in 26 minutes, which has been par for the course lately for the former All-NBA guard.

Simmons has been a ship without a sail ever since forcing his way out of Philly, beset by nagging back injuries and unable to gain back the confidence that once defined his play. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the 28-year-old did some soul-searching this offseason.

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Ben Simmons tried to 'mend fences' with former 76ers teammate Joel Embiid this offseason

"But so much has gone wrong for Simmons and his former team in the years they've been apart that Simmons' presence back in Philadelphia barely registered this time," Shelburne wrote. "He'd even reached out to Embiid and others last summer, league sources said, hoping to mend fences."

Simmons' exodus in Philadelphia was less than ideal. There is a lot of negativity built up, especially in the fanbases. The 6-foot-10 point guard burned bridges on his way out the door — with Joel Embiid, with Daryl Morey, and with just about everyone else in the locker room. That said, Simmons appears to be in a conciliatory mood. That makes for an extremely fascinating hypothetical.

There's a non-zero chance the tanking Nets buy Simmons out of the final year of his contract, worth $40.3 million. That would free up Simmons to join a contender of his choice. As for where Simmons wants to play, well, I'll let him speak for himself.

"Obviously, the injury and everything that was going on didn’t help. But I think it gave me a chance to really appreciate it. 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.’ And in time, you learn and grow as people. I don’t really have anything bad to say about Philly. It was a crazy situation at the end, but it is what it is." (h/t Andscape)

Simmons, against all odds, still has a lot of love for Philadelphia. That city hates him with a passion, but that passion has faded in recent years, to the point where the concept of a reunion is no longer met with fiery pushback.

Now, is it actually a good idea? Of course not. There's a difference between jokes on X and what actually benefits this team. Simmons would be a substantial distraction, not to mention a clunky fit with his unwillingness to shoot (or even attack the basket). His passing and rim pressure would help in theory, but is the upside of a broken-down Simmons as backup point guard really worth all the negative potential fallout? Is this really what the Sixers need right now? Absolutely not.

It's a fun thought, I guess, but it shouldn't become more than that. Frankly, Simmons doesn't need the pressure or vitriol of a return to Philadelphia either. As soon as he doesn't perform, any feelings of forgiveness fly out the window.