It’s the NBA Playoffs and everybody has their focus on their specific teams as they try and chase a championship. The Philadelphia 76ers are focused on looking to close out the Toronto Raptors on Monday and get ready for Round 2.
Former Sixers star Ben Simmons has yet to play for the Brooklyn Nets after the Sixers sent him to New York for James Harden. Simmons was obviously upset with his current situation in Philadelphia and he was then looking happier in Brooklyn with the anticipation that he would play for them, but it hasn’t happened yet.
The Nets are currently down 0-3 to the Boston Celtics in their Round 1 series and the hope was that Simmons would make his debut for Brooklyn then, but he has not been ruled out due to more back soreness. It does look like Simmons will just not step on the floor for the 2021-22 season.
At halftime of Game 4 between the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors on ABC, Stephen A. Smith reacted to the news and he ripped into Simmons for not playing:
I feel bad for anybody who was his teammate. He quit on LSU, he quit on the Philadelphia 76ers, and now he ain’t showing up for the Brooklyn Nets. We can point to all the excuses, all the rationale behind it that we want to. I do recall despite him not playing, he still filed a grievance to collect $20 million that he has not earned. This is one of the most pathetic situations that I’ve ever seen in my life. He ain’t going to war, he ain’t going to the octagon, he’s not going in a boxing ring, it’s pulling teeth to get this man to play basketball. It’s pathetic, it’s sad, and at the end of the day, when the NBA gets in the collective bargaining table and they go after the players in terms of a paid for play stipulation in the collective bargaining agreement, it’s going to be called the ‘Ben Simmons rule’.
In Simmons’ defense, it wouldn’t make much sense to have Simmons make his Nets debut in an elimination game. He hasn’t played since June 20 of 2021 and the Celtics are a team that has historically given him trouble dating back to his Sixers days. At this point, he just has to get ready for the 2022-23 season.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=63202]
[lawrence-related id=63234,63230,63226]