We all know our man Shaq is not afraid to share his feelings and thoughts – especially when it comes to the NBA. On the TNT program “Inside the NBA,” O’Neal shares his observations with his fellow game analysts and the rest of hoops nation. Recently, Shaq made some comments involving members of the Philadelphia 76ers, and it seems at least one high-profile 76er likes what he heard.
In case you don’t follow Philly, there’s a big storyline developing that involves star player Ben Simmons. Simmons has made himself clear on several occasions – he’s interested in leaving the team… the sooner, the better.
However, the 76ers front office has spoken out on the matter several times: They’re holding on to Simmons, unless some major trade offer comes along.
Simmons’ reluctance to put on the uniform and play for the Philadelphia 76ers has drawn a lot of criticism, and dates back to before the current season ever got started.
Seems like the beef dates back to last season when Simmons name came up as a possible trade involving James Harden coming to Philly. Of course that deal never went through. Harden went to the Brooklyn Nets. Still, it seems that the team’s willingness to move him rubbed Simmons the wrong way.
Since then, Simmons has been slammed by fans and analysts alike for the way he’s acted through the entire experience. One of those speaking out has been Shaq. O’Neal called Simmons “soft” during a recent episode of Inside The NBA.
Seems Simmons was listening. Shaq later revealed that Simmons sent some pretty angry DM’s to him over the comments.
Now, in a bit of what can only be called “piling on,” it seems Simmons’ teammate, Joel Embiid, has also made public his thoughts on the situation. Seems like Embiid agrees with O’Neal’s comments. Recently, Embiid posted a picture of Charmin’s Ultra Soft toilet paper on his social feed – no caption or explanation of any kind. Funny, right? Is Embiid agreeing with Shaq’s assessment? Seems like it.
And really, Simmons DMing Shaq did NOT help his reputation of being a “crybaby.” Simmons and Embiid have had a turbulent relationship, and it was recently revealed that he was very upset about Embiid’s comment after their playoff exit, as he felt that he never blamed Embiid after their playoff exit in 2019.
Going forward, Simmons is still looking for a trade. That’ll probably happen, but not right away. The 76ers seem very reluctant to let him go. No telling why, at least not yet. He may have to wait for the offseason coming up for his next career opportunity.