Brooklyn Nets guard Goran Dragic wants Ben Simmons to be ready for his return to Philly. After all, he knows it won't be a positive experience, to say the least.

While Simmons is unlikely to play against his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, he is expected to join the Nets when they visit the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday. It'll be the Australian playmaker's first time in the building–in front of the home fans–since his trade demand saga started in the 2021 offseason.

To recall, it has been reported that the 25-year-old didn't want to play in front of Sixers fans again while wearing a Philly jersey. Philadelphia fans are known to be unforgiving to mediocrity and poor play, and that might have taken a toll on Simmons mentally.

Now that Simmons will be back, though, Dragic warned his teammate about what to expect:

“It's probably not going to be pleasant,” Dragic shared, per ESPN. “The same as in Toronto [for me], but it is what it is. We're all professional athletes. At the end of the day it's only boos, so you just go out there and perform and try to do your best. But as long as it's nothing serious, no throwing things and just be verbal, I don't care.”

Goran Dragic certainly couldn't have said it any better. Besides, it's not like Ben Simmons is not thinking about it given his history and the recent events with the team. As Dragic highlighted, as long as it doesn't pose any physical harm to players, booing should be fine and manageable for Simmons and the Nets.

For what it's worth, Nets head coach Steve Nash echoed the same sentiment, adding that it was Simmons who wanted to be with his Brooklyn teammates in Philly in the first place. That is certainly an impressive decision since all the talk has been about him potentially sitting out the game and not even attending since he wouldn't be able to handle the wrath of Sixers fans. Clearly, Simmons wants to show he can:

“It is what it is. He’s a big boy. He’ll be fine … he wants to be there on the bench with his teammates,” Nash shared.

When it comes to Simmons' return, Nash still wasn't able to provide a clear timeline. He did say the Aussie point forward is “progressing,” but it doesn't look like he's ready for full 5-on-5 work after experiencing some setback in his recovery from a back issue.