Smith called the situation unacceptable and said that Simmons played as much basketball this season as Smith himself and his co-panellist Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo.
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NBA pundit and outspoken personality Stephen A. Smith accused Ben Simmons of stealing a living by not playing and getting paid. He called the situation unacceptable and said that Simmons played as much basketball this season as Smith himself and his co-panellist Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo.
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Smith said, “As far as I am concerned, I don’t want to hear anything about this dude that’s just stealing money, whatever amount of money he is getting, whatever grievance he has filed. Just stealing money, getting paid for doing absolutely, positively nothing. To put it in perspective, Doggy and myself have played just as many minutes as Ben Simmons this entire season. That is unacceptable and as far as I am concerned, you want to send a message, you want to get paid? Play.”
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The duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are capable of taking down any team single-handedly. Add to that, shooters like Seth Curry and Patty Mills and it’s a world-beating lineup. The one thing the Nets have consistently suffered from this season is their defence. They have been porous while defending and teams can just pick away at them when they are on their A-Game.
Ben Simmons, who is one of the best defenders in the game moved to Brooklyn from the 76ers but hasn’t played a single minute all season. Stephen A. Smith ranted about the situation and said that Simmons should play even if it is for just 15 to 20 minutes given that the Nets are so light in defence.
Smith ranted, “This dude has been out since last June. Aint done a damn thing. I don’t want to hear all this nonsense about he has been out and you know what? Don’t bring him back on the court. If Ben Simmons can give you 15 to 20 minutes playing defence, don’t shoot the basketball, that’s good enough for me because they got enough offence with Kyrie and KD. It’s the defence that they need help on.”
