Why return now? Simmons is described as wanting to prove a point, and knowing he had done so with something that almost never happens in the NBA: sitting out training camp, costing himself nearly $1 million in lost salary and fines, and delivering an unmistakable message that he wanted a trade out of Philadelphia. The Sixers scoured the league but never came close to finding a deal that returned them the kind of elite player they'd want in exchange for Simmons, sources said.
The trade market can shift quickly once the regular season gets underway -- and more players become eligible to be moved on Dec. 15 -- but the Sixers have no traction on a trade now, sources said.
Simmons met with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and general manager Elton Brand -- his first conversation with them since August -- in a meeting sources described only as "brief."