Despite all of the drama, Ben Simmons might just end up back in Philadelphia after all.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the chances of Simmons reporting to the team in the near future have increased over the last few days, with Simmons's agent Rich Paul holding talks with the Sixers regarding the three-time All-Star's future in Philly.
Wojnarowski also reported that while the 76ers will continue to explore trade offers for Simmons—who has four years left on his contract—the team's goal is still to convince Simmons to stay.
It's quite the turn of events in the ongoing offseason saga that escalated when Simmons reportedly said in August that he no longer wanted to play for the franchise and would hold out into the preseason.
The 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year has held true to his threat, as Simmons missed his first preseason game last Monday against the Raptors. At the beginning of October, the Sixers reportedly withheld Simmons's paycheck, which amounted to $8.25 million, by putting it into an escrow account. For each game missed, the team will deduct roughly $360,000 from the account as a fine, per ESPN.
The saga stems partly from Simmons's lack of interest in playing with Joel Embiid. Embiid was reportedly one of the Sixers players who wanted to fly to Los Angeles to meet with Simmons this offseason before Simmons rebuffed the offer as he doubled down on his desire to be traded.
