The biggest story around the NBA is Ben Simmons wanting out of Philadelphia, with recent reports indicating he is willing to hold out until the Sixers trade him.
Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal did not hold back on the 25-year-old point guard during a guest appearance on The Tiki and Tierney Show.
Simmons' demands to be traded out of Philly, all while skipping training camp, does not sit right with Shaq, who says Simmons is not being real with himself, especially after his brutal postseason performance.
"One, he's not showing up. As a player, you have to be able to be real with yourself," O'Neal said. "You need to be aggressive, and he definitely got exposed last year in the playoffs. He didn't want to shoot.”
Then Shaq went on to question whether Simmons is as good as he seems to think he is.
"You have to look in the mirror and say, 'Am I as good as I can be?' He's going about it all wrong," O'Neal added. "He could have gone into the office, say 'Hey, my feelings are hurt. You guys didn't stick up for me. I'd like to professionally ask for a trade.'
"The question is, does anyone want him? I'm not paying $200 million for a guy who will not be aggressive and will not shoot in playoff time."
This is not the first time O’Neal has blasted off on Simmons. On his podcast earlier this month, O'Neal said Simmons is simply not good enough of a payer to be acting the way he is. He said a lot of former NBA players and media members think the same way.
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"I have G-14 classification to say what I'm about to say, and so does Charles Barkley: Ben Simmons, you're not that good," O'Neal said. "And then, in this league, do you want to be good, or do you want to be great? You're not great. But if you want to get to that next level, you have to be great. And to be great, you have to work on your game.
"Don't be putting pictures on your Instagram of your Ferrari or what actress you're hanging around with. When you play for a town like Philadelphia, Boston, L.A., Miami — a hard-working town — they don't give a s--- about none of that. They want you to come, work hard and play hard."
To be fair, Shaq has a point. After a bad postseason performance which stemmed from Simmons' unwillingness to shot and his awful free-throw shooting, many were questioning whether Simmons takes improving his game seriously.
When he was called out by head coach Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid, Simmons took little accountability for the part he played in the Sixers' upset loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Although Shaq’s opinion on Ben Simmons is public, it’s still more than likely not going to change anything in regards of Simmons returning and playing for the Sixers this season.
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