Charles Barkley believes the Philadelphia 76ers have a real headache on their hands if they want to find a willing trade partner for Ben Simmons.
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The Sixers invested the no. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Ben Simmons. There was great initial hype for the Australian forward-guard who didn’t really have a set position.
Ben made waves in the first 4 years of his career despite not developing a jump shot. He became a defender capable of guarding all 5 positions on the court. Simmons was also an amazing playmaker in transition, bolstering their defense significantly.
However, when it came to the playoffs, Brad Stevens was able to exploit his lack of a jumpshot. This was a pattern that Nick Nurse and Nate McMillan exploited to full effect in the playoffs that came.
Simmons passed up what was basically an open dunk, attempting a total of 16 shots in his final 3 playoff games. Since his disappointing performances in that series, there has been a loud clamouring for the 24-year-old to be traded away from Philly.
“Ben Simmons makes $30 million but he’s afraid to shoot”: Charles Barkley
Philadelphia 76ers legend and league MVP Charles Barkley has made his standing on this issue quite clear. The NBA on TNT analyst has repeatedly called for the Sixers to trade Simmons away owing to fit issues.
The Chuckster expressed his concerns regarding whether Daryl Morey will find a good trade partner for Ben in a recent interview:
“They got a serious issue on their hand with this Ben Simmons situation because I know Philly is a very difficult town when things aren’t going good.”
“I hear all these fans talking about ‘we got to trade Ben Simmons,’ but after watching him play, and I know he’s making 30 (million) to 40 million a year, what team, and he’s afraid to shoot the ball, what team wants to trade for that situation?”
“So I think it’s gonna be; I don’t even know the right answer. Do the Sixers think they can fix him? Or are they just gonna trade him for less? Because you’re not gonna get equal value as a player.”
