Nuggets' Austin Rivers Doubts Ben Simmons Plays for Sixers Again

The Philadelphia 76ers have fielded offers for their three-time All-Star guard Ben Simmons after requesting a trade back in the summer.

While a handful of teams have shown interest in trading for Simmons, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey set the price tag high and refuses to budge.

The Sixers want another All-Star in return for Simmons. At this moment, there isn't another disgruntled star available that makes sense for them. On many occasions this season, Daryl Morey, Doc Rivers, Joel Embiid, and others have made it known that they would like for Simmons to return to the floor to play for the Sixers again.

But Simmons has stayed true to his holdout. On Wednesday, Simmons' agent Rich Paul met with Daryl Morey and Elton Brand to discuss the situation. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that nothing has changed. The Sixers are still open to dealing Simmons, although they want him to return to the team. Meanwhile, Simmons wants to be traded and doesn't intend to play for Philly anytime soon.

While the Sixers continue to hold out hope for Simmons' return this year, Denver Nuggets veteran Austin Rivers, who is the son of Philly's head coach, believes that the Sixers have seen the last of Simmons in Philadelphia.

"No man, probably not. I don't think so," Rivers told TMZ when asked whether he believed Simmons would play for the Sixers again or not. "If he hasn't suited up by now, then I don't think so. They tried, bro. Look how long it's been. I think they tried to keep him. He wants to go somewhere else, obviously."

A couple of hours after Wojnarowski's latest report, Doc Rivers addressed the situation and once again reiterated that he wasn't sure what the plan was regarding Simmons. "I don't know," Rivers admitted. "I don't think so, but I don't even know the answer [whether he's close to returning or not]. He does come to the facility, but I don't know what that means right now. Hopefully, we'll have an answer sooner than later."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.