Philadelphia sports fans are at their wits' end with 76ers guard Ben Simmons, who posted historically poor offensive numbers and demonstrated an overall unwillingness to shoot the ball during the 2021 playoffs.
And although it remains unclear whether Simmons will wear a Sixers uniform next season, longtime Philadelphia sports personality Howard Eskin believes that fans want the former first overall pick to pack his bags, and soon.
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"If he is [back next season], these people might burn down the building. There is such outrage in this town, concerning Ben Simmons. He doesn't stand a chance," Eskin told The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday. "He obviously is scared in a lot of ways that he plays the game. So, to answer your question: no, I don't think [he's back]. And he better not be back, or they're in trouble. Because they are never going to win with Ben Simmons on this team -- never. I don't care where you put him, unless you put him on the bench. And you're not going to put him on the bench, making $30 million a year.
"Now, [Sixers general manager] Daryl Morey didn't say that he would be back. And I knew when I asked the question -- I love these nitwits on Twitter who say, 'Well, what'd you expect him to say?' Well, if he was coming back, he would've been really definitive and said, 'Yeah, there's no reason that Ben Simmons shouldn't be back next year.' And then you'd follow up, 'Well, there's plenty of reasons because he's scared to shoot.' However, he didn't say that.
"There will be the search by Daryl Morey. Now, the problem is you're just getting rid of his contract, and you're going to have to give up first-round draft picks, too. But, I can't believe that he'll be back. I mean, I just can't believe it."
Simmons, a three-time All-Star, scored a measly seven points on just four shot attempts in the Sixers' Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the East semifinals on Sunday. He also finished the postseason a ghastly 25-for-73 (34.2-percent) from the free throw line, the worst rate in NBA playoff history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
To make matters worse, Simmons took a total of three shots in 56 fourth-quarter minutes across seven games against the Hawks, and averaged a scant 9.8 points per game.
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Simmons has four years and roughly $146 million remaining on his contract, per Spotrac.com.
The entire conversation between Eskin and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.