NBA rumors: Ben Simmons tried to ‘mend fences’ with Embiid, 76ers; Revisit ‘Unlikely’ | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

After years of being persona non grata for Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons tried to make a breakthrough with his former teammate before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.

According to ESPN’s Ramona ShelburneSimmons “reached out” to Embiid and others over the summer in an effort to “mend fences” between the two sides.

Shelburne noted that any talk of a reunion between Simmons and the 76ers is considered “unlikely,” but you can never rule anything out.

The relationship between Embiid and Simmons during their four seasons as teammates was particularly fraught with tension.

After the Sixers traded Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022, Embiid told reporters that winning wasn’t the top priority for the veteran point guard.

“It’s unfortunate that winning wasn’t the biggest factor,” Embiid said of Simmons. “It’s unfortunate that for him to have his own team and I guess being a star were more his priorities.”

Before the start of the 2022-23 season, Simmons told ESPN’s Nick Friedell that he and Embiid “never really talked” when they played together:

“I don’t think there was really a relationship there. Like in terms of a friendship? You can try as much as you want to try to be close to somebody, be their friend, whatever it is, but everybody’s different as people, so for me it’s never personal, I have no anger or hatred towards him. He is who I am, my goal is to win and I had to win with Jo. He’s a great player, we got it just not done.”

Embiid eventually softened his stance on Simmons, calling him “someone who got away” during an appearance on Tyrese Maxey’s podcast in December 2023 (h/t) David early by Liberty Ballers).

The 76ers are in free fall right now, to the point that they could probably use a backup point guard with Simmons’ skill set to give their offense some juice. Their big three of Embiid, Maxey and Paul George have played a combined six minutes so far this season.

Philadelphia’s 3-13 record is second-worst in the NBA, ahead of only the Washington Wizards (2-14).

Simmons has been healthy to start this season after a back injury limited him to 13 games during the 2023-2024 campaign. He is averaging 5.3 points, 6.5 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in 13 appearances for the Nets.

While Simmons is nowhere near the All-Star guard he was in his prime with the Sixers, the fact that he’s returned to being a useful player is a win in itself given how many injury issues he’s had during the run of the last three years.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Nets try to explore trade options for Simmons during the season. He is in the last season of his contract with a 40.3 million dollars expiring salary.