Despite what happened in the past, the city of Philadelphia still has a special in the heart of Ben Simmons.
The star swingman even has consideration to find himself back and wearing a Sixers uniform, as he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape in a recent interview.
“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.’”
Simmons and the 76ers placed themselves at the center of league drama back in the 2021-22 season after the Aussie star filed his trade request in the wake of roaring criticisms he obtained from the Philly fans after an underwhelming 2021 postseason display.
Simmons reached up to the point of no-play as he expressed his desire to focus on his mental health. But as the trade deadline of the season was approaching, team president Daryl Morey ultimately pulled the trigger and shipped him to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden.
Simmons didn’t ultimately play the rest of the season for the Nets as he nursed his back, and he was even limited from the last 2022-23 campaign for them due to multiple injuries and lack of mental conditioning. He was only available in 42 games of play and was far from his All-Star form by just registering a career-worst in points (6.9), boards (6.3), assists (6.1), and field goal attempts (5.6).
No matter what, Simmons seems to be in good spirits following his stained Sixers tenure, as he is now focusing on his new chapter as a member of the Nets through multiple important activities this summer.
“I had a lot of fun there. It was time for me to go. When I did leave, it was good timing. Obviously, the injury and everything that was going on didn’t help. But I think it gave me a chance to really appreciate it,” he said
