Rich Paul thinks Ben Simmons should transition to center and ironically enough, that’s exactly what the Sixers need behind Joel Embiid

Imagine going back a few years and telling Sixers fans that Ben Simmons would return to Philadelphia as Joel Embiid’s backup center.

You’d have been laughed out of the building, and yet here we are, because Rich Paul reportedly wants Simmons to transition to the 5 as he attempts a comeback after a full year away, and the Sixers happen to have one of their biggest roster holes at exactly that spot.

Basketball is beautiful.

I know the take here is supposed to be complicated. I know the Ben Simmons saga is supposed to have left a permanent scar, the passed-up dunk in Game 7 against the Hawks, the year-long holdout, the ugly ending.

I get why people feel that way but I’ll be honest with you.

I love Ben Simmons. I always have. I never wanted it to end the way it did, and the idea of him coming back to Philadelphia to finish what we started and get a ring with this roster is the kind of redemption story that this city was built for.

Ben Simmons might be the perfect fit for the Sixers

Rich Paul says he told Ben Simmons he could still be a $30,000,000 NBA player

“I remember having a conversation, me and Ben talking. I said, ‘Ben, you got so much left in the tank, bro. If you just become a pick and roll five at the end of games, because your playmaking ability… pic.twitter.com/ptI25u3wI3

— dank (@cptdankkk) July 5, 2026

Rich Paul Laid Out the Exact Vision for Ben Simmons and the Sixers:

“I remember having a conversation, me and Ben talking. I said, Ben, you got so much left in the tank, bro. If you just become a pick-and-roll five at the end of games, because your playmaking ability makes you a different rolling big. We see so many rolling bigs with low IQ. You actually have a high IQ. We know he was all first-team All-Defense. If you just become that, where you’re rolling down the lane, dunk, man rotates over, kick to the shooter, if you just become that you’re a $30 million player.”

Say what you want, but that’s a genuinely smart read on what Ben Simmons still is.

Most rolling bigs in this league are athletes with no feel, guys who catch and finish or turn it over. Ben Simmons is the opposite. He’s one of the best passers of his generation and a former first-team All-Defense player built like a center. A roll man who can catch on the short roll, read the defense, and drop the perfect pass to an open shooter is a weapon, and Ben Simmons has all of that hardwired into his game.

The jumper was never coming. This role doesn’t need it.

The Fit Is Perfect

The Sixers have needed a real backup behind Embiid for years, and the minutes when Embiid sits have sunk season after season. Bona and Hukporti are on the roster but neither is a proven answer. Simmons walking into that role solves a genuine problem, and he solves it with size, defense, rebounding, transition speed, and elite passing.

And on this team? He’d be a role player. Not the guy. Not the top option freezing in the fourth quarter of a Game 7. On a roster with LeBron, Embiid, Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and Edgecombe, Ben Simmons gets to do the things he’s genuinely great at, defend, rebound, run, and pass, with zero pressure to score. That’s the exact environment where the best version of Ben Simmons can exist, the version that was an All-Star and an All-Defense monster before the weight of being the franchise cornerstone crushed him.

This Is the Ben Simmons Ending It Should Have Been

The Ben Simmons story in Philadelphia deserved better than how it ended, and this is the chance to rewrite it. A year off, a comeback, a new role that fits everything he does well, and a real shot at the championship this city has been chasing for over 40 years.

Ben Simmons was here for the Process. He was here for the suffering. He deserves to be here for the payoff.

Bring him home. Put him next to LeBron and Embiid. Let him roll to the rim, defend five positions, and be the connector this team needs off the bench. Ben Simmons chasing a ring in Philadelphia after everything that happened is the kind of full-circle story that makes sports worth caring about.

I love Ben Simmons. I want him back. Time to finish what we started.

Dwight can stay home 😂

— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) July 25, 2026

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