2016 top pick Simmons ruled out for season
Australian playmaker Ben Simmons, the top pick in last year’s NBA draft, has been officially ruled out for the rest of what would have been his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers with a broken foot.
Simmons is “heartbroken” over the news that the injury to his right foot has not fully healed, 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo said in making the announcement on Friday.
Article continues after this advertisement“I have always known that there was a desire to get him back on the court when healthy,” Colangelo said. “We’ve always anticipated there would be an opportunity for him to play, hopefully this season.
“But there was always the outside chance that it didn’t happen because there wasn’t complete and full healing. And we weren’t going to put Ben Simmons in a place where he was (susceptible) to a re-fracture.
“He’s heartbroken. He wants to play. He wants to be out there. It’s eating him alive, I’m sure.”
Article continues after this advertisementSimmons fractured his foot on September 30, the final day of pre-season training camp. He underwent surgery in October to repair an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot.
The Sixers said his latest scan taken Thursday showed the injury was not healing as expected.
The 20-year-old Simmons has not appeared in a regular-season game. He has taken part in on-court practice drills but not scrimmages.
At 21-35 with 26 games remaining the 76ers are 13th in the Eastern Conference and six games behind Detroit for the last playoff spot.