By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers were back at practice today and among the team was newly-signed point guard Chasson Randle. The team signed him to a 10-day contract and he'll be in uniform against the New York Knicks tomorrow night at the Wells Fargo Center, wearing no.5.
"I just want to bring a lot of energy on both ends of the floor, be aggressive, try to make plays out there and be a good teammate," Randle said after Tuesday's practice, his first with the team. "There are a lot of great guys here. I've only been here for 24 hours, but I can already tell these guys are amazing."
Randle wasn't the only one to complete a first with the Sixers at practice today. Ben Simmons took a very positive, yet small, step in his recovery, participating in 5-on-0 drills for the first time since his surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. Brett Brown mentioned that Simmons' cutting ability is at 80 percent, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Joel Embiid told reporters that the Sixers used Simmons as the point guard in some of the 5-on-0 drills and he's very excited to play with him. There's still no timetable on his return, but Brett Brown mentioned on 97.5 The Fanatic this morning that he hopes that the team can provide a more substantial update on the 2016 top pick sometime soon.
The other big story at practice today was the status of Jahlil Okafor. After playing as the teams' starting center last season and Joel Embiid's primary back-up to start this season, Okafor has now sat in two consecutive games as the Sixers see what Nerlens Noel can do in extended minutes. Noel has performed well, but that hasn't kept Okafor from supporting his team. Despite the lack of playing time, Brett Brown is very happy with how Jahlil is handling the situation as a professional and as a teammate.
"It's not Jahlil's fault he's in this situation," Brown said when speaking to reporters on Tuesday. "I want to make sure he's kept up and that he's feeling fantastic about himself. To date, when I watch him on the end of the bench, swinging a towel, cheering the team with Richaun. From a teammate perspective, I give him an A+ in retrospect."
Okafor later echoed the words that Brown mentioned to the media, noting that the coach has done a great job with him and that he's keeping fresh and staying on track during this "funky" situation as he referred to it as.
"I know I'm not a third player or a DNP, but that's what it is right now and coach Brown has been phenomenal with communicating with me. I know in the long run I'll be fine, so I'm just trying to come in here and work as hard as I can."
Brown believes that Okafor is well aware of the end game at the end of this tunnel and that he'll be just fine in the long run. There are plenty of opportunities for Okafor to stay fresh and show that he can be an efficient center with a handful of back-to-backs coming up on the schedule, meaning Joel Embiid won't play in one of the two.
Jahlil Okafor mentioned that he expects to play when the team travels to Washington on Saturday after the Sixers host Charlotte on Friday night.
