NBA legend Charles Barkley has taken a fresh swipe at wantaway Aussie Ben Simmons, insisting it was time for the 76ers to use the stick, not the carrot.
The crew on TNT’s NBA coverage were discussing the Simmons situation, and the concept of ‘re-recruiting’ Simmons into the fold as though he was a fresh face – something Barkley took exception to.
“This dude has done everything he can not to be re-recruited. They started off the season begging him to come back,” he said.
“He came, and then he acted like a jerk in practice. They wanted him back, then, because he wanted to get paid he came back and like I said, he started acting like a jerk and they kicked him out.”
Simmons ended his holdout a couple of weeks’ ago and returned to practice with the team, but was sent home by coach Doc Rivers.
He re-appeared a week later but has yet to feature in a game for Philadelphia – Barkley said he only returned for financial reasons.
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“They started fining him again – now he’s back,” he said.
“They’ve bent over backwards to kiss this dude’s ass.
“Now they’ve started kicking his ass. There’s only two. You kiss somebody’s ass or you kick their ass. It’s time to kick his ass.”
Last month, Barkley said there was no way that Simmons could play another game for the team, declaring the Aussie’s relationship with the city “over”.
“There’s only two bonds in pro sports: the locker room and the fans,” he said.
“He’s burned both of those bridges.”
Simmons, the 2016 No.1 draft pick, still has four years left on his contract.
He signed a five-year contract in 2019, worth just over $230 million dollars. The 211-centimetre playmaker is owed $44 million for this season.
The 76ers are enjoying a decent start to the season, boasting an 8-4 record through four games.