September 01, 2026
What year is it?
It may be the first day of September 2026, but this week's Sixers mailbag has a 2018 feel to it.
No matter what, Sixers fans always seem intrigued by the idea of Ben Simmons returning to Philadelphia. And, as the former No. 1 overall pick aims to stage an NBA return, the whispers will only get louder until the 30-year-old signs elsewhere.
This week's mailbag answers one of many questions submitted about Simmons – and then another focused on other old friends:
From @realstuartl: Is all this Ben Simmons talk just aggregator clickbait or despite what he did to leave the organization, is there really a legitimate chance during the season they would sign him?
It seems clear that, after not playing in the NBA during the 2025-26 season, Simmons is intent on returning. The following reports from Marc Spears a few weeks ago set the latest rumors into motion:
NBA free agent forward Ben Simmons is expected to be a full participant with “zeros restrictions” in a player-led Aussie men’s national team mini-camp in Melbourne beginning Monday, sources to @andscape. Simmons took last season off in hopes of completely healing from injuries.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 10, 2026
The three-time NBA All-Star paid his own way to the camp. A coach who worked out Simmons recently said he has regained his athleticism. The injury-plagued 30-year-old recently told @andscape this is the best he’s felt in years. He last played with the Nets & Clippers 24-25 season
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 10, 2026
Sources: Several NBA teams have expressed interest to Simmons’ camp, including one West squad that offered a training camp invite. He is also open to signing a vet minimum contract. Simmons has dreams of playing for Australia during 2028 LA Olympics. Attending mini-camp aids hope
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 10, 2026
Why would there be? The last time he played, he was a small-ball center without good rebounding and considerably diminished athleticism. He was a point forward only nominally; Simmons had little ability to actually create shots for any teammates because he had no ability to create shots of any kind for himself. He is not exactly a connecting wing, either; those players are asked to spot up from beyond the arc.
And for the Sixers specifically, there is really not much of a basketball-centric argument in favor of bringing Simmons back. He can still see the court and pass, but is there anything else Simmons currently does better than Dominick Barlow? Barlow will likely be the ninth or 10th man on this team. Jabari Walker, likely 14th out of 14 Sixers signed to standard contracts, has far more proven utility at this juncture than Simmons does.
If the Sixers needed more ball-handling and size, maybe this would be a slightly more digestible idea. But they signed LeBron James, the absolute best version of Simmons' archetype to ever exist. It is difficult enough to argue Simmons deserves an NBA roster spot at all anymore, but his fit on this team would be particularly wonky.
MORE: Full 2026-27 Sixers schedule, with details, analysis and games of note
From @lukelesher.bsky.social: If you could add any Process Sixers legend to this team to fill out the 15th roster spot, who would it be and why?
Different folks have different interpretations of "Process Sixer," but assuming post-tanking acquisitions like Jimmy Butler are off the table – as they should be – the clear answer here is Robert Covington.
Covington is one of the better player development stories in recent Sixers history, an undrafted wing Brett Brown and Lloyd Pierce molded into one of the single most impactful perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. That defense, combined with high-volume three-point shooting, made Covington one of the elite role-playing wings in the league for a few years before injuries began to derail him.
Sixers' Robert Covington drills deep game-winning three over Blazers' Evan Turner, delighting Joel Embiid (all angles) pic.twitter.com/vqB74vnwN4
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 21, 2017
During the 2017-18 season in which the Sixers had a dominant starting lineup and won 52 games with a rookie Simmons and sophomore Joel Embiid leading the way, Covington earned First Team All-Defense honors while also shooting 36.9 percent from beyond the arc on 6.9 attempts per game.
Covington was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves a few weeks into the following season, in the deal that sent Butler to Philadelphia. He was outrageously impactful defensively, far more than any perimeter player typically would be in terms of turning a defense around.
Butler was regarded as one of the best two-way players in the NBA at the time, and Covington was tied to a defensive weak link in Dario Šarić. Yet the numbers suggested Covington was so impactful that none it mattered:
Covington was That Guy https://t.co/jzOqIGWY2G pic.twitter.com/RHOmZzwUPW
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) August 13, 2024
Dean Wade is going to be a hugely important part of the 2026-27 Sixers. What if Wade was an even stronger defender and a considerably more accurate shooter on much higher volume? He would resemble the player Covington peaked as – a wildly underrated player.
MORE: Building lineups Sixers head coach Nick Nurse can lean on in 2026-27
