The Philadelphia 76ers made a number of big moves in free agency with the additions of Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and Ariel Hukporti. All three of the free agency moves, along with the blockbuster trade to acquire Jaylen Brown, should allow the Sixers to climb the ladder in the East and seriously contend with the defending champion New York Knicks.

Simons, especially, feels like a player who can seriously stabilize the bench unit. He averaged 14.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 44% from the floor and 38.5% from deep. He averaged 6.9 attempts per night split between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics.

After playing 55 games in 2025-26, the recruiting process for the Sixers started with Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jameer Nelson who put in a call to Simons' family.

"Obviously, taking a few calls from different teams, and my agent told me, I got a call from Jameer—Jameer called my parents," Simons said via Zoom on Tuesday. "I talked to Nick (Nurse), and I just felt like at the time that was probably the best fit for me when it comes to positional need, and kind of wanting to go out there and compete for a championship. I think it was the best opportunity for me to do that."

Simons will lead the bench unit and be the main backup guard to Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, but he will certainly play in lineups with either player. There will be combinations with Simons and Maxey as well as Simons and Edgecombe. The whole point of having a guy like him is his ability to help with the ball-handling as well as being that guy who can put the ball in the basket in the blink of an eye.

"Just helping them out as much as I can," said Simons. "Whether it's handling the ball or being off the ball, giving them space to work, whether it's giving them a break and letting me go out there and have the ball in my hands. Just doing anything it takes for us to be successful as a team, and I think, obviously, people say Tyrese had a big workload in the past couple years, even VJ, and so I'm just there to help them out, any way they need to relieve some pressure."

The Sixers will be looking to Simons to be that important piece to help Philadelphia continue to grow and chase down the Knicks in the East. This is a talented roster and it will be up to him and coach Nurse to figure out the next moves.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Anfernee Simons reacts to joining Sixers, explains recruiting process