The Liberty Line just wrapped up a Friday to Monday trip to the Poconos and I spent the majority of Monday laying on a couch wondering why I put my body and bank account through three consecutive days of drinking and gambling. What I was not expecting, however, was a news update on 76ers starting point guard Ben Simmons returning to Philadelphia. 

News poured in all day yesterday regarding Ben Simmons and his return to Philadelphia. With each new tweet, the story got even more bizarre. Woj tweeted out on Monday that Ben Simmons plans to rejoin the team and that the 76ers organization has been in close talks with Klutch Sports and Ben Simmons’ agent Rich Paul about Simmons return to the 76ers. 

Simmons has been getting fined a lot of money and a huge check that was supposed to be paid to him on October 1st was never paid, but rather put in an escrow account that the 76ers were taking money from for the fines that were occurring each day. With that news, it seemed like Rich Paul, Klutch Sports, and Ben Simmons decided on a new path, and a Woj bomb confirmed that Ben Simmons would be returning to Philadelphia. 

Here’s where things started to get weird. Ben Simmons showed up in Philadelphia last night during the 76ers – Nets preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center. The weird part is, is the fact that no one knew Ben Simmons would be coming to Philadelphia. Apparently, he showed up unannounced without telling anyone. 

Elton Brand reportedly received a text message saying that Ben Simmons was outside the building. Simmons did enter the Wells Fargo Center to take the mandatory COVID-19 test to clear him to return to team activities. 

This raises a lot of questions. Who did know that Ben Simmons was flying to Philadelphia? If the 76ers organization has been communicating directly and only with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, how is it possible that Klutch and the 76ers were both unaware that Ben Simmons was on a flight and would be showing up to the Wells Fargo Center to rejoin the team? 

A Ben Simmons Heel Turn?

Stick with me here because we could be witnessing a historic heel turn from Ben Simmons, where he has turned his back on Klutch Sports, and decided to take matters into his own hands by returning to South Philadelphia to put an end to the hold out and stand off against the 76ers. 

I know how crazy that sounds, however, everyone on earth realizes how badly Simmons and/or Klutch Sports has handled this entire situation. The 76ers have remained consistent saying that they wanted Simmons back and that they would not trade him for just any package that a team would offer for the sake of him leaving Philadelphia. 

Has Ben Simmons gone rogue? Honestly, it was one of the only moves he had left to make. It’s something that I have been saying for months now. Ben Simmons could easily return to the 76ers by just ditching Klutch Sports and letting them hold all of the blame. Oh, and shooting the basketball, but first, by denouncing Rich Paul and Klutch Sports. 

This is beyond crazy. It really doesn’t seem like anyone knows what’s going on. Whether that’s Klutch Sports or the Philadelphia 76ers organization. 

Ben Simmons is back in Philadelphia and Embiid spoke after the 76ers win over the Nets about Simmons returning to Philly.

It’s time to buy in. Ben Simmons makes the 76ers a better team whether you want to admit it or not. Joel Embiid knows this. I know it. We all know it. We are certainly in for a busy few weeks regarding Ben Simmons leading up to the first game of the season. The 76ers still need to convince Simmons that Philly is the place to call home and the fans need to come to some type of resolution with Simmons as well. It will be a very interesting week ahead. Buckle up.