“Sixers are stupid, they should have given Ben Simmons a 5-game suspension.”: Charles Barkley blasts Sixers star for practicing with a mobile phone in his pocket

Philadelphia 76ers have been dealing with the Ben Simmons situation without any success for a long time now.

First, the Sixers organization were the ones who made it clear that they wanted the All-Star guard traded but as soon as the it was understood they wouldn’t be getting the expected return for their star, they were expecting for their max-contract player to resume training.

But Ben isn’t ready for it, he plans to meet medical professionals for evaluation after telling the team past Friday that he isn’t mentally ready to play to his expectations and needs time to step away.

Simmons was suspended for the Sixers’ trip to New Orleans on Wednesday. He lost approximately $227,000 for Wednesday night’s suspension.

Also read: “Kenny Smith will be on list of top 5000 players in 20 years”: Charles Barkley ends fellow ‘Inside the NBA’ analyst’s career with brutal burn ahead of Clippers vs Warriors

This “plan to meet medical professionals” might be a tactic by Ben and his agent Rich Paul to trigger a clause in the players’ contract which allows them to still get the full salary if they are dealing with any “mental disability”.

Charles Barkley thinks Ben Simmons should be suspended for at least 3 to 5 games

Talking about the Ben Simmons situation on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” with veteran analysts Tony Kornheiser and Mark Wilbon, Barkley said it was a foolish move from the Sixers organization to ban Ben for a day, and that there is no point in it.

“Pardon The Interruption” debuted 20 years ago today. Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser were pioneers. Brave, funny and incredibly knowledgeable. One of the most important shows in sports television history. pic.twitter.com/SELoEBqo0g

— Sid Seixeiro (@Sid_Seixeiro) October 22, 2021

“They screwed this thing up from the beginning Tony, they need to trade Ben Simmons.” said Charles.

Chuck has been a Philadelphia resident for a long time after being one of the city’s biggest NBA superstars in the 90s. And he knows a thing or two about those hard-core Philly fans,

He continued “One thing I know about Philadelphia those fans are not gonna forgive him, it’s time for him to move on.

The Sixers? They made a mistake anyway suspended him for one day, they should have suspended him for 5 days.

The notion that everything is going to be great in 24hrs is one of the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen, they should have given him a 3-game or 5-game suspension.”

Ben could have made a case for himself if he came in early and busted his a** : Barkley

Chuck thinks if Ben had a better approach towards the situation even after putting in a transfer request a few months back, Philadelphia would have accepted their star guard with open arms.

Barkley said “I think if Ben had come in they would have given him a second chance, I truly believe that.

He came into the training camp and said ‘hey you know what I was mad, I did not play great, I gotta get better as a player.’ But once he came back and he’s practicing with a cell phone in his pocket and he’s not talking to his teammates it was over.

But I think if he came in and busted his behind, I think Philly would have given him second chance but I believe now it’s over, there’s no way he can go back in that building and those fans are going to be supportive.”

Also read: “Shaq, what do you think you’re Ben Simmons who can come to work and act like an idiot”: Charles Barkley and the cast of Inside the NBA roast Shaquille O’Neal for arriving late

Ben Simmons, the Philly management, and coach Doc Rivers have tough few weeks coming ahead, it would be tough to keep the performance top-notch with all this drama. But Joel Embiid seems unbothered now, at least that is some relief for Philly fans.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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