Make no mistake, sources close to Simmons continue to insist that he’ll sit out the entire season if a deal isn’t done by the deadline. To DA’s point, that means the postseason would be unnecessarily brutal on Embiid when it comes to the load he’s asked to carry. There is, not surprisingly, serious skepticism from Simmons’ side as to the authenticity of Embiid’s messaging. “Joel is Daryl, and Daryl is Joel,” as one source put it.