Ben Simmons was a full participant in Sunday’s 76ers practice.
This marked his first team activities since losing to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals June 20. Simmons had requested a trade and held out for 14 days.
He ended his holdout on Oct. 11 by showing up at the Wells Fargo Center to take a mandatory COVID-19 test. He cleared COVID-19 protocol on Friday, but did not attend that night’s game in Detroit against the Pistons.
On Friday, coach Doc Rivers said he was approaching this season as if Simmons will continue to play for the team.
“Well we have to,” Rivers said. “As a coach, I’m literally in a tough spot, right? But we literally have to.”
Assuming Simmons is moved, a great time to do so would be after Dec. 15, the first day this summer’s newly signed free agents can be traded. That timeframe provides a bigger pool of potential trade partners.
