For a while now, it seemed as if Philadelphia 76ers No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons would return to the court following the All-Star Break. Philadelphia has been playing it cautious with the rookie after he underwent foot surgery in the offseason. But it looked like he would be back in the mix some time soon. 

Unfortunately, a new report from Philly.com's Keith Pompey suggests that Simmons had not returned because his foot has failed to heel completely. That would make sense. It would also seem to suggest that the Sixers might hold off on actually letting him see the court in the second half of the season. 

At this point, Philly has a minimal chance of earning a bottom two seed in the Eastern Conference. With Joel Embiid now dealing with an injury, that's only magnified further. Why risk injury to a prized youngster like Simmons in his rookie season? This would go completely away from the Sixers' MO. 

This all comes on the heels of Sixers head coach Brett Brown concluding that there's a chance Simmons will see the court at some point soon. 

So while there are mixed signals coming from the brass, it makes sense for us in the fake basketball world not to rely on Simmons to do anything of substance as a rookie. This should enable owners to drop him in re-draft leagues and look for a veteran that has a chance to make an impact.