Joel Embiid Believes Ben Simmons' Return is Good for Sixers

Joel Embiid has had a hard time getting in contact with his superstar sidekick Ben Simmons ever since the Sixers dropped Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks in the

Joel Embiid has had a hard time getting in contact with his superstar sidekick Ben Simmons ever since the Sixers dropped Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs back in June.

After Simmons requested a trade ahead of the NBA Draft combine, the Sixers considered all options, which included trading him away and even keeping him. After fielding offers, 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey decided it would be best to keep Simmons as the right offers weren't coming in.

Therefore, Sixers officials flew out to Los Angeles for a face-to-face meeting with Simmons. In an attempt to convince him to return to the team with an open mind, the 76ers were rejected as Simmons reiterated he was finished with the organization and wanted to be traded. And in order to get what he wanted, he would skip out on training camp and preseason games.

Simmons remained committed to his holdout throughout training camp and the first few preseason games, but on Monday night, the star guard made a surprising return to Philadelphia as the 76ers took on the Brooklyn Nets. Following the big win over Brooklyn, Sixers center Joel Embiid reacted to the news regarding Simmons' arrival.

"That is good for the organization," said Embiid. "That's something that everybody wanted. I've always said that I believe that he gives us the best chance to win. We are a better team, with him than without, that's for sure. I'm happy that things have resolved, and we can move on and try to try to be a better team."

Embiid publicly made it clear he wanted to continue playing with Simmons throughout the course of the offseason. Although he called the situation as a whole disappointing and borderline disrespectful in some ways, the MVP runner-up made it clear that he doesn't have any hard feelings towards his teammate. 

As long as Ben Simmons returns with good intentions and is ready to buy in on the 2021-2022 Sixers, then all will be forgotten by Joel Embiid as he's solely focused on winning games and bringing a championship back to Philadelphia.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.