Ben Simmons returned to Philadelphia on Monday and appears set to rejoin the 76ers.
The embattled All-Star showed up at Wells Fargo Center shortly before tip-off of a preseason game between the 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, ESPN reported, adding that team officials were not aware he was en route.
The report said Simmons took a COVID-19 test in the arena, the first step in following NBA protocols that will allow him to rejoin the team after missing all of training camp and the preseason.
Earlier Monday, ESPN and The Athletic said Simmons' representatives had been engaged in talks with 76ers management for the past few days and made progress in ending the Australian's holdout.
Simmons demanded a trade away from Philadelphia following a disappointing Eastern Conference semi-finals loss to the Atlanta Hawks and had not spoken directly to team officials since late August.
Head coach Doc Rivers spoke to reporters before Monday's game and said the team has always wanted Simmons to return.
"Listen, we've said from day one what we wanted. We'd love to get him back," Rivers said. "Other than that, honestly, there's nothing to report. Our position hasn't changed at all."
Not long after that, Simons arrived at the arena.
His return not necessarily mean he will be with the team for the long haul, but getting the guard back on the court could make it easier for Philadelphia to trade him.
Simmons is due to be paid $33million this season and will have three years and $114m remaining on his deal after that.
Those numbers combined with Simmons' abysmal showing in last season's playoffs have left Philadelphia with minimal leverage in the trade market.
Across Games 5, 6 and 7 against the Hawks, Simmons averaged just 6.3 points from 4.7 field goal attempts.
The 25-year-old attempted only one shot in the fourth quarter of the final six games of the series against the Hawks, while he passed up a dunk that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter of Game 7.
His 34.2 per cent free-throw shooting throughout the playoffs was by far the worst rate of any player with 10 attempts or more, while he took just one shot in clutch situations.
In four seasons with the Sixers, Simmons has averaged 15.9 points per game in the regular season, yet he has attempted only 34 shots from three-point range and made just 59.7 per cent from the foul line.
Depending on how quickly details are finalised and he is cleared to play, the earliest Simmons could feature in a game would be Friday's preseason finale against the Detroit Pistons.
The 76ers open the regular season on October 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Weeks after reports emerged saying Ben Simmons had no future with the Philadelphia 76ers, both sides appear focused on an agreement that would have the All-Star rejoin the team.
ESPN and The Athletic said on Monday that Simmons' representatives have been engaged in talks with 76ers management for the past few days and made progress in ending the Australian's holdout.
The situation has improved to the point that ESPN reported Simmons could soon speak directly to team officials, which he has not done since reiterating his trade demands in late August.
A potential agreement for Simmons to return to head coach Doc Rivers' squad does not necessarily mean he will be with the team for the long haul, but getting the guard back on the court could make it easier for Philadelphia to trade him.
Simmons is due to be paid $33million this season and will have three years and $114m remaining on his deal after that.
Those numbers combined with Simmons' abysmal showing in last season's playoffs have left Philadelphia with minimal leverage in the trade market.
Across Games 5, 6 and 7 of the 76ers' Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Hawks, Simmons averaged just 6.3 points from 4.7 field goal attempts.
The 25-year-old attempted only one shot in the fourth quarter of the final six games of the series against the Hawks, while he passed up a dunk that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter of Game 7.
His 34.2 per cent free-throw shooting throughout the playoffs was by far the worst rate of any player with 10 attempts or more, while he took just one shot in clutch situations.
In four seasons with the Sixers, Simmons has averaged 15.9 points per game in the regular season, yet he has attempted only 34 shots from three-point range and made just 59.7 per cent from the foul line.
Should the parties come to an agreement quickly, the earliest Simmons could feature in a game would be Friday's preseason finale against the Detroit Pistons.
The 76ers open the regular season on October 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry has praised LeBron James for his longevity and pushing him to sustain his prime for as long as he can.
Curry and James are set to face off on the opening night of the 2021-22 NBA season when the Golden State Warriors meet the Los Angeles Lakers on October 19.
Four-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA champion James enters his 18th NBA season with the Lakers among the favourites for the title.
Despite being 36-years-old, James remains a key part for the Lakers, who won the NBA in 2020, before bowing out in the first round of the 2021 play-offs.
Curry praised 17-time All-Star James for maintaining his high levels throughout an extended period, when the pair have arguably been the league's best players.
"He set the standard for that," Curry told reporters on Friday. "Let's keep it real – in his 18th year, nine straight Finals, all the things that he's accomplished.
"You have a vision of sustaining your prime for as long as you can, kind of re-imagining what that looks like. The work that goes into it, the intentionality, especially in the off-seasons, especially how you take care of your body, your mind. Balance on court, off court."
The Lakers forward had an injury-interrupted 2020-21 season, averaging 25.0 points,7.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game, having boasted a career-best 10.2 assists per game in the side's title-winning 2019-20 season. He has averaged 25.0 points per game or more since his debut season in 2003-04 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James is four years Curry's senior, with the 2003 NBA Draft first pick having claimed one more NBA title across his career than the Warriors point guard who debuted in 2009.
"For me, it's a weird perspective just because I still remember my college days and he was just coming into his prime in the league," Curry said.
"And my sophomore year, [NCAA] tournament run he came to a game, then came to a game my junior year. I still have a jersey that he signed back in '08 in my parents' house back in Charlotte. So it's kind of weird to think about what's happened in the last 13, 14 years.
"Hopefully there's more chapters of that, playing at that prime. Re-imagining and extending your prime and playing at a high level for a long time looks like."
Curry, who only played five games in the 2019-20 season due to injury, topped the NBA last season for points per game, at 32.0.
The 33-year-old's 32.0 points per game was a career-best return, while he also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
"I love exactly where I'm at," Curry said ahead of the new season. "I'm planning to be ready for opening night.
"Body feels good, mind feels good, shot feels strong. I'm not pacing myself but I'm being smart about how I approach preseason games."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash has welcomed reports that Kyrie Irving will be permitted to train at the franchise's facilities despite being unvaccinated and unable to play home games.
Irving will still not be available for home games at the Barclays Center in the 2021-22 NBA season, which starts for the Nets on Tuesday 19 October against the Milwaukee Bucks, under New York's COVID-19 vaccination laws.
The Nets point guard has not been able to join Nets practice this week but according to reports the franchise's HSS Training Center has now been deemed a private office building, enabling him to train there despite his unvaccinated status.
"It’s positive to be able to welcome him back into the building and have him be part of the team," Nash told reporters on Friday.
"I don’t want to comment too much on it firmly until I know what the parameters are but it sounds like it’s positive news."
Nash admitted Irving would need to catch up after his interrupted pre-season but was bullish he would be able to maintain a level of game fitness throughout the season.
"When someone's able to resume full activity on the court they'd still need to meet a level of high intensity, before you'd put them in a game," he said.
"Even if you're not injured, you still have to reach those thresholds. If you are injured, once you are healthy, you have to meet those thresholds as well."
Eighteen former NBA players have been charged over an alleged scheme to defraud the league's health and welfare plan out of nearly $4million.
The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that 19 defendants had been charged after allegedly submitting "fraudulent reimbursement claims for medical services that they never received".
One of the 18 ex-players was Tony Allen, a six-time All-Defensive Team selection who was part of the championship-winning Boston Celtics squad in 2008. His wife was also charged.
Allen's former Celtics team-mate Glen Davis, Shannon Brown – twice a champion with the Los Angeles Lakers – and Melvyn Ely, a title winner in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs, were also named among the defendants.
FBI assistant director Michael J Driscoll said: "Today we've charged 18 former NBA players and one spouse for their alleged participation in a health care fraud scheme that resulted in nearly $2million in losses to the National Basketball Association's health and welfare benefit plan.
"The health care industry loses tens of billions of dollars a year to fraud. Thanks to the work of our dedicated FBI agents and partners alike, cases like this demonstrate our continued focus in uncovering health care fraud scams that harm both the industry and the consumers of their services."
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: "The defendants' playbook involved fraud and deception. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners, their alleged scheme has been disrupted and they will have to answer for their flagrant violations of law."
New York City Police Department commissioner Dermot Shea said: "Today's federal indictment represents the NYPD's long-term commitment, working with its law enforcement partners, in making sure those accused of health care related fraud are held accountable. I commend those involved in the investigation, the FBI, and the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District in New York for its work in ensuring there is justice in this case."
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant envisions Kyrie Irving being part of the NBA championship contenders this season but admitted if he misses games his quality will be hard to "duplicate".
Irving has not trained with the Nets in New York this week as part of the city's COVID-19 protocols that only allows players with at least one vaccination shot to practice and play.
Nets star Irving faces missing all of Brooklyn's home matches in the 2021-22 season, which gets underway against reigning champions the Milwaukee Bucks on October 19, if his vaccination status does not change.
The drawn-out situation has created a major distraction for title favourites the Nets, who bowed out to eventual champions the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season.
"I'm envisioning Kyrie being a part of our team," Durant told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "Maybe I'm just naive, but that is just how I feel.
"But I think everybody here has that confidence in themselves, in our group, that if we keep building, we can do something special."
Irving averaged 26.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in the 2020-21 season where he played 54 times.
The Nets struggled to find continuity with their big three, Irving, Durant and James Harden, who joined from the Houston Rockets in January, on the court due to injuries but that seemed set to change after injury-free pre-seasons ahead of the new campaign.
"I mean he's a special player so it is going to be hard to duplicate what he brings," former MVP Durant said.
"But professional sports are about the next man up mentality so we are looking forward to guys stepping up and filling in that role as best as they can."
Durant and the Nets have tried to insist the Irving situation is not a distraction, although the 33-year-old forward said he would not get involved in his team-mate's decision-making.
The Golden State Warriors faced a similar situation last week with Andrew Wiggins under the San Francisco city laws, although he opted to get his first vaccination ending the discussion.
"He is dealing with something personal right now and while he is dealing with that, we are going to focus on us here in the gym and keep working," Durant said. "When they are ready to figure that out, he'll figure it out."
Durant added: "I want him a part of this group. He's a special player. We want him a part of this group. But a lot of stuff is out of our control and we will let him figure that out for himself.
"It doesn't mean that I will say that I don't want him on the team. He's a huge part of what we do but guys got to step up in his absence and be who they are and move forward.
"I'm not really trying to get too involved in it. It's far bigger than myself and each one of us individually. This is one man's personal decision on his wellbeing."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash said the team will not move practice so Kyrie Irving can bypass the COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
Irving missed Tuesday's practice due to New York's coronavirus vaccination protocols, with local mandates restricting unvaccinated persons from entering sports arenas, restaurants and other public spaces.
Nets star Irving faces being unable to play home games while losing significant portions of his salary if he is not vaccinated.
Asked if the Nets considered moving training outside of New York, Nash told reporters: "No, this is our home. This is where we're going to practice and we have almost a whole group.
"So that's a positive, and we're just working at getting better every day and focusing on the things we can control."
Addressing the Irving situation, Nash said: "No further update. We support him. We are here for him. Things change. When there's a resolution, we're here for him."
"I'm not really worried about anything," Nash added, with the Nets due to open their season against champions the Milwaukee Bucks on October 19. "We're just trying to work every day.
"We came in today and had a great practice and we'll do the same tomorrow, and that's kind of where I leave it."
Irving was unable to attend the Nets' media day in person in Brooklyn on September 27.
"I know that I'll be there every day no matter what and just be present for my teammates as one of the leaders on the team and be there for my growing tribe off the court," Irving said remotely.
"I know the focus has to be at an all-time high, no distractions. This is the last thing I wanted to create, was more distractions and more hoopla and more drama around this. I'm doing my best to maintain this with good intentions and a good heart."
In 2020-21, Irving averaged 26.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game as the Nets lost in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Irving enjoyed a career-high 50.6 field-goal percentage and joint-career best 92.2 free-throw percentage last season.
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