Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets is open to playing again for the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that drafted him with the first-overall pick in 2016, the Australian guard told Marc Spears of Andscape.

After the 76ers selected Simmons at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 23, 2016, they waited patiently for another year until Simmons recovered from a foot fracture. Having made 275 appearances in the following four seasons for the team, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game while being selected into the NBA All-Star Game three times, the All-NBA Third-Team once and the All-Defensive First Team twice.

Then came the 2021-22 campaign, which Simmons missed due to both a back injury and his fallout with the team. In the end, he was traded to the Nets in February 2022, but his performance with the new team was nothing but disappointing. He got only 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

"Obviously, the injury and everything that was going on didn't help. But I think it gave me a chance to really appreciate it," Simmons said in the interview with Spears. "I'll always have love for Philly. People always ask me like, 'If you were to get traded again, where you want it to be?" I always say, 'Just Philly. Philly is a second home to me.'"

In his prime, which sounds sad because he is only 27, Simmons was of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year caliber and a 2.11-meter-tall, athletic orchestrator who was unstoppable in transition. Nonetheless, injuries and long-time absence from regular game-playing not only affected his fitness and form but also further exposed his weaknesses: a lack of aggression on the offensive end. That's why he ceased to be the second-in-command for the 76ers and became an inessential offensive deadweight for the Nets.

"For me to come back and dominate people will be great," Simmons said. "I don't intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that's not even close to where I am."

The 76ers traded Simmons to the Nets in 2022 for James Harden, who recently had a fallout with the team as well and requested a trade. The 76ers asked for a lot to trade Harden, which is why so far there have been no serious talks between them and any team. If the 76ers' goal is to improve their strength as a title contender, or at least stay competitive as they were last season, they have no reason to bring in a negative asset like Simmons and his two years that are worth over $78 million left on his contract.

A simple comparison between Harden and Simmons can easily show why the 76ers don't need Simmons back. The team needs a playmaker who can feed Embiid the ball to his sweet spots – Harden did it much better than Simmons; Embiid needs as good as possible spacing to release his offensive power – Harden drained 2.8 triples at 38.5 percent per game last season while Simmons seldom shot from downtown in his career; the 76ers need someone to take the offensive load from Embiid when he is trapped by defense – Harden carried the team to two victories in the lost seven-game series against the Boston Celtics last season while Simmons passed up a wide open dunk in his final game for the 76ers in 2021.

Therefore, signing Simmons back may make headlines, but other than that, it won't help the 76ers much, if at all.