The return of Ben Simmons was certainly a twist in the offseason trade saga nobody saw coming. The Philadelphia 76ers point guard returned to practice, which many expected to be an awkward interaction between him and his teammates.

After all, Simmons did everything in his power to get the Sixers to trade him, and even refused a visit from Joel Embiid, Danny Green and other teammates who wanted to talk to him face-to-face.

But according to Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, his return wasn't as frosty as many anticipated. Ben Simmons was simply welcomed back like nothing happened upon his return to practice with the rest of the team.

Via Keith Pompey:

“We just introduced like we always do when a new guy comes back or the old guys come back. We jokingly did it. We did it with Tobias as well because he’s been on vacation and Matisse as well,” Rivers said.

“But as I told you before, the players pretty much welcome guys back,” the Sixers coach concluded.

So is everything back to normal in Sixerland? We can't exactly be sure. Doc Rivers has every reason to downplay any awkwardness or animosity between Ben Simmons and the rest of the team.

Ben Simmons remains part of the Sixers, for now. Whether or not Joel Embiid and the rest of the team are totally fine with him returning? We'll just have to wait and see.