KEY POINTS

  • Shaquille O'Neal blasts Ben Simmons' request for a trade out of Philadelphia
  • The Laker legend tells Simmons that he did not work hard enough
  • Charles Barkley is also "disappointed" in Simmons for reacting in that manner

Ben Simmons recently asked for a divorce from the Philadelphia 76ers but NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal made sure that the Australian point-forward heard his thoughts.

O’Neal, alongside guest Charles Barkley, was one of the hosts of “The Big Podcast with Shaq” and Nischelle Turner mentions that the Simmons-Sixers saga was not going to end well.

The former Los Angeles Laker shared his thoughts on the situation.

“I have G14 classification to say what I am about to say and so does Charles Barkley: Ben Simmons you’re not that good," O'Neal stated. "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."

The always outspoken O’Neal further ripped Simmons for not working hard enough.

"Don’t be putting pictures on your Instagram of your Ferrari or what actress you’re hanging around with," O'Neal said. "When you play for a town like Philadelphia, Boston, L.A., Miami — all hard-working towns — they don’t give a [expletive] about none of that. They want you to come, work hard and play hard."

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on August 31 that Simmons wanted out of Philadelphia.

Part of their difficulty in finding a decent trade package for him is his massive four-year, $147 million contract and his performance in the Atlanta Hawks series where he only attempted 14 shots in the last three games and three fourth-quarter field goal attempts.

“I’m disappointed in Ben Simmons,” said Barkley with a chagrin. “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,’ that disappoints me as a player, it disappoints me as a fan.

“They’re not saying, ‘hey, come over here and cut my grass.’ They’re saying ‘Ben, we need you to learn how to shoot the basketball,” said the NBA legend who also played for the Sixers.

The Simmons-Sixers saga will continue to drag on and until they do, Simmons will need to absorb all of the comments, good or bad, being thrown his way due to his actions.

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