Brett Brown Backtracks on Ben Simmons’ January Return

76ers coach Brett Brown on Friday confirmed that injured rookie star Ben Simmons is expected to return in January. Then he backtracked — sort of.

Then, perhaps after talking to team officials, Brown backed off that statement when the Sixers’ digital content coordinator asked for an update on Simmons hours after his initial comments appeared on Philly.com.

“I was just getting excited about how soon he might be able to come back,” Brown said. “There are so much speculation and dates as a coach you sort of want to hear what you want to hear at a time. I did mention a January hopeful return. That is premature.”

Source: Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer