Klutch reunion: Could Simmons join LeBron on the 76ers?

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Just weeks ago, Ben Simmons told Men's Health '"maybe I'll go back to Philly".

Well, while he reportedly plots a potential return to the NBA after spending last season off, a reunion with the Philadelphia 76ers seems more likely after the franchise's prized recruitment and shock addition of LeBron James.

James has long been a mentor for Simmons and the two athletes, along with 76ers star point guard Tyrese Maxey, share the same agent in Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul. Maxey's close relationship with James was also believed to be a key factor in the four-time NBA MVP making the switch to Philadelphia for just a two-year, $8 million veteran's minimum.

Despite Simmons, 30, spending the past season recovering from serious back injuries and also fishing after buying into the South Florida Sails, who won an angling championship in May 2026, frontcourt depth is exactly what the 76ers need to cover the injury-riddled Joel Embiid.

In his own words on the Game Over podcast recently with Max Kellerman, Paul said Simmons still had it in him to be a $30 million player if he could make a positional switch from his favoured point guard spot.

“I remember having a conversation, me and Ben talking. I said, ‘Ben, you got so much left in the tank, bro. If you just become a pick-and-roll five at the end of games, because your playmaking ability makes you a different rolling big’,” Paul said.

“We see so many rolling bigs with low IQ. You actually have a high IQ. We know he was all first-team All-Defense.

“If you just become that, where you're rolling down the lane, dunk, man rotates over, kick to the... if you just become that, you're a $30 million player.”

Simmons also revealed in his interview with Men's Health that he had spoken to NBA head coaches who have told him “if he’s healthy, he has a spot".

“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realising that my abilities will be needed,” he told Men’s Health magazine in June.

“I don’t have a plan on where.”

Simmons missed last season after his deal with the Los Angeles Clippers expired. The free agent received a one-year minimum contract offer from the New York Knicks before the start of the 2025-26 season, which he has rejected.

He bought into the South Florida Sails and won an angling championship in May 2026. But now he’s ready for a comeback, spending the past eight months fishing in Florida.

“Maybe I’ll go back to Philly,” he said.

“Miami would be nice. And not because it’s Miami – I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organisation, I like the culture.”

Since the 76ers traded for 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and signed LeBron James in free agency, the main questions surrounding their star-studded roster has been their frontcourt depth behind Joel Embiid.

Philadelphia signed former NBL Next Star Ariel Hukporti on a minimum deal and have young centre Adem Bona on their roster, but a swiss-army knife player like Simmons could be an ideal 'low risk, high reward' signing for the 76ers, where the Aussie became a three-time NBA All-Star.

Justin Grasso from The Sixer Sense, which covers the 76ers, said the centre position was the "glaring weakness" for Nick Nurse's roster.

"Behind Embiid is the developing Adem Bona, a New York Knicks castoff in Ariel Hukporti, and an underwhelming sophomore big man in Johni Broome. If the Sixers look to upgrade another position, this will have to be it. For now, the Sixers are banking on one of these young players to stand out and become a clear, reliable backup. The five spot is clearly the biggest glaring weakness moving forward," he wrote.

Time will tell whether Philadelphia would even go down that path or whether Simmons is serious about an NBA return, but if it did happen, in a team which already boasts such a high ceiling, it could be a match made in heaven.