PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Ben Simmons was reportedly in South Philadelphia on Monday night, but does that mean he's planning to suit up for the Sixers anytime soon?
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Ben Simmons went to Wells Fargo Center to take a COVID-19 test, which is possibly Step One to rejoining the team. But according to Wojnarowski's report, the team didn't expect Simmons to report until later in the week.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said, perhaps joking, that Wojnarowski knows Simmons' plans and whereabouts better than he does.
"I think he did his COVID tests today, from reports from Woj — which, I'm gonna call Woj to find out what's going on," said Rivers.
This is certainly progress, as Simmons was losing a noticeable amount of money during his holdout, according to ESPN.
Whether or not this results in Simmons playing for the Sixers again, after he clears protocol, remains uncertain.
Related
Rivers, who spoke shortly after the game, said he hadn't seen Simmons at the arena because he was coaching, but he reiterated his and the team's desire to have him back.
"They do, I'm telling you, especially if you're in that type of team where you have a chance to win. They want to win, and they look at Ben as a guy that can help them do it," he said, before Monday's 115-104 preseason win over the Nets.
Rivers indicated conversations with Simmons' agent have been good. Rivers also suggested that there won't be any awkwardness either.
Embiid says it's good Simmons is back in town
That's something Sixer star Joel Embiid says he can agree with, though apparently — at least up until Embiid's postgame press conference Monday — he and Simmons had not spoken in a while.
"I haven't talked to him, you know, since the season ended," Embiid said. "Obviously, I tried, but I wasn't successful as, you know, a lot of my teammates have."
He continued: "I think there's gonna be some adjustments. but it doesn't need to be awkward. I mean, we are professionals, you know. We want to win, you know. I want to win. So, you know, it gives me the best chance to win. So that's what I'm gonna go with."
ESPN reports Simmons is expected to meet with Sixers leadership Tuesday at the practice facility in Camden.
Related
