PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons arrived at a quiet Wells Fargo Center Thursday morning for shootaround with his new team. When he returns a few hours later, the atmosphere inside that building will surely be much more emotionally charged.
Simmons will not play in the first 76ers-Nets game since the blockbuster trade a month ago that sent Simmons (along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks) to Brooklyn for James Harden and Paul Millsap. Yet Simmons is expected to join his teammates on the Nets’ bench — and to be the target of vocal Sixers fan vitriol.
“I hope he enjoys it,” Nets coach Steve Nash said following shootaround. “How many people in this world get to go in an arena and get booed by the entire place? I had it done to me, and I thought it was a privilege. I hope he enjoys the experience. His future is in Brooklyn. Philly has moved on. And it’s a basketball game, so let’s go out there and enjoy it.”
