Philadelphia has been dealing with Ben Simmons buzz and trade rumors since the James Harden saga before his eventual trade to the Brooklyn Nets last season.
This offseason the relationship between the team and Simmons has deteriorated to the point where each side is looking for a trade out of Philly. Simmons is also threatening to sit out of training camp while he waits for the signal to hop on the next flight out of town.
NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley had some words to say on the situation and let their opinions fly on The Big Podcast with Shaq Thursday. They were not exactly singing Simmons’ praises.
“Ben Simmons you’re not that good,” O’Neal said, flatly.
O’Neal said he was at Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks when Simmons passed up an open shot for a pass, leading to just one point at the free-throw line.
“That man was out there terrified,” O’Neal said. “Not terrified of playing, but terrified of being fouled and missing free throws. Forget all that.”
Barkley said he was “disappointed” in the forward, after failing to develop a competitive jump shot.
“When you give somebody $200 million to dribble a stupid basketball, and the only thing you asked him was to be better as a player, and their first response is ‘I don’t wanna play here anymore,’” Barkley said. “That disappoints me as a player, it disappoints me as a fan.”
In 275 career NBA regular-season games, Simmons has attempted 34 three-pointers and has hit just five. He is a career 14.7% three-point shooter, hitting all of his career shots from beyond the arc in the last two seasons. For comparison, he has sunk nearly 1800 shots from inside the line, at a 56.4% clip.
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