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Sixers Expect Simmons Back in January

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Philadelphia 76ers at one point said Ben Simmons had no deadline for his recovery, but head coach Brett Brown recently indicated he is expected back in January.

After increased talks over the past few weeks about Ben Simmons and his recent injury, the Philadelphia 76ers finally put fans’ anxiousness to rest. The team, after initially saying that Ben Simmons has no timetable for his recovery, is now opening up and confirming that they expect him back in January of 2017.

Talking to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, head coach Brett Brown had this to say prior to the team’s Friday night game against the Miami Heat:

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That’s just about three months away, which was the general hypothesized return date for Simmons by experts of the injury.

Over the past few weeks following the injury, some fans have speculated that Simmons might actually sit the full year. It has been reported that Ben Simmons’ agent would rather he sit the whole year, and some fans felt that this would be the safe route in order to safeguard the No. 1 overall pick from further injury.

The Sixers will have to see where he’s at in January, but provided everything goes good, it looks like we will see Simmons this year. That’s encouraging, for the most part. There was some reason to keep him out for the whole season, but generally fans, as well as the team, will be happy to have him this year.

Of course, with good news comes bad news. Jerryd Bayless‘s situation looks worse and worse everytime it’s brought up. His situation is reminiscent of former Sixer Kendall Marshall. Marshall was looked at as a good sign by Hinkie leading up to last year’s season.

Marshall came in with an ACL tear, and didn’t play for the first several months. When he finally did play, he didn’t live up to the initial expectations from fans.

Overall, however, the real good news is Simmons’ injury timeline, and he’s much more important to the next few years of the Sixers’ franchise than Bayless is. It would be great to have Bayless come on and be healthy now, but it’s not worth the rush.

Overall, things are looking positive for the Sixers heading into the season. Dario Saric and Joel Embiid will have a few months to show off and develop without Simmons, and we will also get to see Ben prove himself this year.

That’s one heck of a year we’re looking at.

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