August 30, 2023
Once you think the Ben Simmons saga is over, it actually isn't.
In an interview with Andscape's Marc J. Spears, Simmons opened up about his injuries and, more pertinently to Philadelphia, his time with the Sixers. Here's an excerpt from Spears' Q&A with the current Nets point forward (bolded sections are my own doing):
Spears: How would you say you reflect back on your Philadelphia days?
Simmons: 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. 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.
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Spears: How do you look back at that Game 7 loss of the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals to the Atlanta Hawks? Your last game in a Sixers uniform is often brought up. Do you even reflect on that?
Simmons: I don’t even remember that game anymore. To me, I made a play. I gave it to somebody who’s probably going to shoot better from the free throw at that moment of the game. It didn’t work, but I made a play. People make hundreds of plays throughout the year. They’re not always going to be the right play at the right time, but it was a play.
But that wasn’t the factor of the game. You can go back and look at different things within the game where it could’ve been better. For me, shooting the free throws was one of them, but it didn’t happen. So, that’s just something you just keep working [on]. [Andscape]
Can you imagine Simmons back on the Sixers? With this franchise, they typically exceed my wildest expectations in the worst manner possible, so I can't rule it out! James Harden wants to leave the organization. How about a redo on that 2022 trade to send Philly and the basketball world into a frenzy?
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