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Sixers Officially Announce Ben Simmons Will Miss Remainder 2016-17 Season

By George Kondoleon

Jan 18, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (25) passes the ball during warm ups against the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (25) passes the ball during warm ups against the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sixers’ general manager Bryan Colangelo held a press conference Friday morning, announcing Ben Simmons will miss the rest of this season.

From the moment Ben Simmons landed on the foot of D-League player Shawn Long in training camp, there was always a weary feeling on whether the top prospect would play his rookie season. Simmons was set to move forward the Sixers’ rebuild together with Joel Embiid, but will now have to wait until next fall to do so.

Simmons foot injury had an expected recovery time of 8-12 weeks. Simmons seemed to take his recovery vigorously and was eager to join the team this season. His final CT scan showed that his foot was not yet healed properly. Colangelo went on to point out players like Blake Griffin and Julius Randle, exemplifying players who had missed their first season but prove to still be effective. He went on to say that Simmons is “heart broken” and “wants to play”, but it won’t happen this season.

The Simmons news does show that the Sixers are still taking a cautious approach to how to handle their star player of the future. His summer league play was enough to excite fans to envision future glory, but for now that has subsided. Simmons missing the season wasn’t surprising, however it’s still disappointing to a franchise who has seen continuous injury problems with their top picks the past four drafts.

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Otherwise, Bryan Colangelo also touched on the two trades the Sixers made before the deadline. He claimed that while there were disconnects between Ersan Ilyasova‘s camp and the franchise about free agency, he also says that Dario Saric‘s recent play made the team more comfortable to move the veteran in a trade. Saric has been the driving force for the Sixers’ past four wins and seemed to cement himself as a crucial part of this rebuild.

The big trade of Nerlens Noel was almost glossed over. Colangelo claims that the deal that was made was the best available one at the time, and that “it made no sense” to go through restricted free agency with Noel. He went on to praise Justin Anderson‘s athletic ability and grittiness, stating that Philadelphia would love the approach to his game.

Next: Anderson's Game Needs Polishing

Finally, Colangelo covered the uncertainty of Joel Embiid. He “regrets” calling his injury this season day-to-day, while Embiid missed weeks with a knee contusion. Overall, Colangelo’s press conference covered the ground of many fans’ questions. It’s clear that the general manager still has work to do as the rebuild progresses.