“They have not given up on Ben Simmons reversing his field and playing for them this season” - Brian Windhorst gives the latest on Ben Simmons’ future ahead of the trade deadline

Ben Simmons has still not played for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2021-22 NBA season. But even through all the turmoil and trade rumors, it appears the team's faith in Simmons has remained in tact.

In Thursday’s episode of NBA Today, Malika Andrews and Brian Windhorst discussed the latest in NBA Trade Deadline rumors, with the deadline approaching on February 10th.

During their conversation, Ben Simmons and his position in Philadelphia was brought up wherein Windhorst made a startling statement, saying that the most recent messages out of Philadelphia are that the 76ers "have not given up on Ben Simmons."

“They have not given up on Ben Simmons reversing his field and playing for them this season.”

However, Brian Windhorst then went on to express his doubts over whether those reports were in fact true, citing his own "conversations with Ben Simmons' side."

“I don’t think that this is a viable conversation based on my conversations with Ben Simmons’ side.”

76ers still hold hope for Ben Simmons to stay

Ben Simmons during the Philadelphia 76ers v Atlanta Hawks in Game Six of the NBA Playoffs

Ben Simmons continues to further engage in a contentious holdout in order to make his trade request happen as soon as possible. The reason simply being, that Simmons did not like how he was being perceived and treated by the fans in Philly.

In Philadelphia’s 2020-21 playoff run, Ben Simmons offensive output was simply nowhere to be found, which lead to the fans appearing to turn on him. Following the team's exit from the playoffs last season, Simmons shouldered most of the blame for the 76ers disappointing play.

“All of it. I did not shoot well from the line this series. Offensively I wasn’t there. I didn’t do enough for my teammates. There’s a lot of things I need to work on”

Failing to attempt a single shot in the final quarter in five out of his seven games during the 76ers series against the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons left much to be desired. Shooting 15-for-45 on foul shots for a percentage of 33% gained him the worst free throw percentage in NBA playoffs history for a player with at least 70 attempts.

In Game 7 of that series, Simmons capped off his poor performance by passing up a wide-open dunk for an assist, absolutely screaming to the NBA community that he lacked confidence. Ben Simmons ended the final game of the playoff series with a mere 5 points, 8 rebounds, and one steal in their loss.

After his performance was received negatively by the 76ers fanbase, Simmons wanted out of Philadelphia. It appears that even after acting out for the majority of this season, his team still wants him back on the floor with them. That level of faith should show Ben that his teammates believe in him enough for him to come back with no hard feelings.

The 76ers currently stand in 5th place in the Eastern Conference with 29 wins to 19 losses. Their higher standing is owed mostly to the greatness of Joel Embiid, who has elevated himself into the MVP conversation as of late.

Embiid is averaging a whopping double-double this season with 29.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game for 2021-22. He is shooting well from deep, at 38.0% from the three-point line. Joel currently stands 3rd in total points scored per game.

With Philly playing as well as they are, it is surprising that after all Simmons has put them through that they still exhibit such patience. Perhaps the 76ers want to give Ben the opportunity to show what he is capable of, while improving his stock before he hits the trade block. However, what other teams perceive him to be worth in potential versus what he actually brings to the court is a whole different story.

With how back-and-fourth trade talks have been coming out of Philadelphia in just the last few months alone, one can only imagine what is going to happen with Simmons as we head towards the February 10th trade deadline and beyond.