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Sixers Mailbag: Josh Harris, Ben Simmons update, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pick

If you had as much money as Josh Harris, what would you do during this pandemic?

Josh Harris is catching a lot of heat for initially wanting to reduce employees' salaries up to 20% for the Sixers and New Jersey Devils.
Josh Harris is catching a lot of heat for initially wanting to reduce employees' salaries up to 20% for the Sixers and New Jersey Devils.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

This is the ninth edition of the weekly 76ers mailbag.

Each week, Inquirer.com followers may submit questions to answer every Friday.

Missed out on the party this week? No worries. You can submit your question(s) for next time by following me on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and tweeting your inquiry with the hashtag #PompeysMailbagFlow.

Let’s jump right into this week’s questions:

Question: If you had as much money as Josh Harris, what would you do during this pandemic? — @AndyGoldfuss

Answer: Thanks for the question, Andy. And thanks for getting this newsletter started.

It’s definitely a good question to ask. It’s hard to say what I would try to do if I was worth close to $4 billion like Josh Harris, the managing partner of the Sixers. I never really thought about it. I would try to do something to help the less fortunate. I would try to use my influence to make sure people are safe and have what they need.

But those could be things that he’s already doing. I do know that Harris, who also owns the New Jersey Devils, pledged to continue to pay hourly workers and event staff at the Devils’ arena through the end of the regular season. He also pledged to do the same for the people working the Sixers’ game.

I know it was a bad look for him to try to temporarily reduce salaries of at-will Sixers and Devils employees, making more than $50,000, up to 20%. He ultimately decided not to do it. But we don’t know the things he will try to do for people behind the scenes.

Q: Assuming the NBA season resumes in June or shortly after, will Ben [Simmons] be good to go? Haven’t heard much on his back. — @DenUMChicken

A: Thanks for the question, Mike. One would assume that the extra time would make a return more likely. But it’s tough to answer that question definitively due to the prior uncertainty and vagueness in regards to Simmons’ pinched nerve in his lower back.

The Sixers did announce on March 11 that the two-time All-Star would be reevaluated in three weeks, which would be around next Wednesday. Simmons had been doing exercises on his back to work on nerves and release tension. But he and his camp should know more after the next doctor’s visit.

Q: Timing of timeout for health of 76ers could not have come at a better time! Will they be the biggest benefactor on the reset button in the NBA? — @laxthefacts

A: What’s up? I will say yes only if Joel Embiid comes back in shape. He has a history of returning from extended breaks out of shape. But if Embiid comes back in shape, the answer is yes. Here’s why: The timeout would give Simmons more time to come back from his lower-back injury if he opted to. The extended time away would give coach Brett Brown more time to figure out the best way to correct the spacing issues when Simmons, Embiid, and Al Horford play together, as mentioned last week.

Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown is using this time to go over film to see the best way to utilize those three guys. This also gives Josh Richardson time to rest his hamstrings and be further removed from the concussion he suffered.

Q: Since the Oklahoma City Thunder have a good record and Sixers would get their pick, what position would the Sixers draft? — @thurmond_peter

A: Thanks for the question, Peter? As some of you might know, the Sixers won’t have their own first-round pick in this year’s draft. But they could receive the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round selection as a result of trading Jerami Grant to OKC on Nov. 1, 2016. However, that pick is top-20 protected. As a result, the Thunder will keep the pick if it falls in spots 1 through 20 in the draft.

If the season would end today, the draft pick would be No. 22 and go to the Sixers. Assuming the Sixers don’t get that pick, it would turn into second-round picks in 2022 and 2023.

So something tells me the Sixers will be rooting for the Thunder (40-24) to finish the regular season off strong if it resumes.