Ben Simmons wanted to get out of Philadelphia. Now that he’s accomplished that, he’s much more at peace.
Although he’s yet to play for his new team, the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons is back in team facilities and sitting on the bench during games as he deals with a back injury and aims to return to game action at some point.
Andre Drummond was among the players involved in the Simmons-James Harden mega-trade. And despite technically being teammates all season dating back to their time in Philly, Drummond just now is getting to know Simmons.
He explained to former teammate Danny Green on “Inside the Green Room with Danny Green” how Simmons has been since the trade.
“Ben is great. He’s an incredible talent," Drummond said. "I obviously haven’t gotten a chance to play with him yet, and just the experience – people ask me the same question of what it’s like being with him – and honestly, I didn’t know him when I was in Philly, I never played with him in Philly, so honestly I couldn’t give a f--k less what he did while he was there.
“He’s my teammate now, and he’s normal. I talk to him every day now, he’s a normal dude. There’s a path he wanted to go on and he stuck to it. You can’t be mad at a guy for holding his hat to that, he said he was going to do something and he did it. Whether people like it or not, it is what it is, it’s your choice. But he’s with us now, he’s ready to come back and play so I’m looking forward to being on the same court as him.”
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Things weren’t acrimonious between Simmons and Drummond in Philly. They just didn’t really know each other.
That has since changed.
"The way he was in Philadelphia, seeing him every now and again coming into the locker room, I would still go out of my way to say what’s up to him, I didn’t know him off the court and he didn’t do s--t to me, so I didn’t have any feelings toward any of that," Drummond said. "So when I saw him in Brooklyn when we first got there, I dapped him up, he was like I’m ready to play, he’s excited to be here and he’s happy that he’s playing with me. So to myself in my head I’m like, oh yeah, this motherf----r is normal. He’s a cool dude, very fun to talk to, loves the game and is excited to step on the court again and play the game that he loves the way he knows how to. So, the interactions with him have been great overall."
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The Sixers are set to host the Nets on Friday in one of the more highly-anticipated games of the season. Simmons is highly unlikely to play due to the injury, but it’s possible he’ll be on the bench, where he’s sure to be met unpleasantly by 76ers fans.
Drummond knows what it’s like to be an opposing player in Philadelphia. Simmons doesn’t. That said, the veteran big man has no desire to preach to Simmons about what to do when he returns.
“I will say this and I’m going to leave it at this: What Ben Simmons decides to do is what he decides to do," Drummond said. "Would I love for him to be on the bench? Absolutely. Will he do it? I have no idea, I’m not sure what his plan is, I know he’s rehabbing and doing all this stuff for his back, so that could be the reason why he doesn’t come out of the locker room for the game. At the end of the day, he’s traveling and if he comes out, he comes out. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. We’re not going to lose sleep over it.”
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