Ben Simmons Finally Ramping Up Action to Return With Nets

When Ben Simmons said he would never play for the Philadelphia 76ers again, he meant it. Even though team officials attempted to convince Simmons to return after shopping him around during the offseason, Simmons rejected their plea.

For training camp, he was a no-show. In the preseason, Simmons didn't play a single game. Although he was around home shootarounds and practices during the regular season, Simmons didn't play in a single game for the Sixers.

The disgruntled guard told his coaches and teammates he wasn't mentally ready to return to the floor ahead of Philadelphia's second regular-season game. Simmons missed 54 games for the Sixers this year. 

When the trade deadline approached, he hoped the Sixers' front office could put something together last-minute. Fortunately for both parties, they did. Simmons was moved to the Brooklyn Nets, along with Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.

Meanwhile, the Sixers landed their star target James Harden and the veteran Paul Millsap. For the next few days following the trade deadline, the players involved couldn't compete until Harden and Millsap passed their physicals. On Saturday night, they finally did that.

When Monday rolled around, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond made their Nets debuts. Simmons, as expected, did not play yet. While Simmons remains off the floor, he's making immediate progress in Brooklyn. 

Not only was Simmons participating in the Nets' shootaround session on Monday morning ahead of their matchup against the Sacramento Kings, but he was also spotted on the bench with his teammates during the game.

When will Simmons return to action and make his 2021-2022 season debut? It's unclear at the moment, but it's apparent he's trending towards playing soon. 

Not only was he spotted publicly for the first time this year on a game night, but Simmons' status on the injury report changed from "personal reasons" to "return to competition reconditioning." It typically takes a player a few weeks to ramp up action before they get back out and begin playing again. Since Simmons hasn't played since last summer, he'll definitely need some time.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.