Over the past few weeks, Ben Simmons has made every attempt to get himself out of Philadelphia.
Following their brutal loss in the 2021 playoffs, Ben concluded that continuing his career as a Sixer was not the path he wanted to take and proceed to orchestrate his exit from the team.
Things got pretty ugly, to the point where GM Daryl Morey had to fine Simmons for missing practices and games.
The whole ordeal is still ongoing, and nobody is sure when, or how, it will all end.
On “Inside the NBA,” Charles Barkley revealed his thoughts on the matter, telling his co-hosts that it’s time for the Sixes to play hardball.
“This dude has done everything he can not to be re-recruited. They started off the season begging him to come back, so they have massaged him Shaq,” said Barkley.
“They wanted to go see him. He said, ‘Don’t come see me’. He came and then acted like a je*k in practice. They wanted him back. Then cause he wanted to get paid, he came back and started acting like a je*k and they kicked him out…They gave him another chance, they said, ‘Okay you got some issues, he said I don’t wanna see your guys.’ They start fining him again, now he’s back,” he added.
“They’ve bent over backward to kiss this dude’s a**, now they start kicking his a**. There are only two you kiss somebody’s a** or kick their a**.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1458229191632044032
At this point, salvaging the relationship is impossible. Simmons has burned many bridges on his quest to be traded and his desire for a change has not wavered at all since the summer.
It’s up to the 76ers to determine what happens next. Will they continue to fine him until he complies? Will they work with him on a trade before the deadline?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
