Nets’ Ben Simmons Ripped Over Viral Social Media Post

Watching his former team get eliminated from the postseason was all fun and games for Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons. The former Philadelphia 76er did not hide the fact that he was taking in their eventual 112-88 loss in during some downtime at home, posting a picture of him doing just that to his Instagram on May 14.

But Simmons flaunting his viewing choices did not sit well with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith who did not hold back.

“The only thing worse than James Harden was that sorry, trifling a** Ben Simmons,” Smith said on his ‘Know Mercy with Stephen A. Smith’ podcast on May 15. “How the h*** you gonna say something about any basketball player? … I tried to be nice to Ben Simmons. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. I started off the season saying, ‘Give him a chance’. How the h*** are you talking about a basketball player when you treat putting on a basketball uniform and dribbling on the basketball court to go play…as if somebody asked you to get on the front lines in Ukraine to fight Russia? That’s how scared he is to play basketball. That’s how scared he is.”

The game (Game 7) featured admittedly poor performances for the Sixers from 2023 MVP Joel Embiid and former Nets star James Harden who forced his way out of Brooklyn and also has an MVP in his trophy case.

This is also not the first time he has stuck it to his former team.

But, to Smith’s point, Simmons did not see the floor in a game after the All-Star break.

He had suited up for 42 of a possible 58 games before being shut down for the season with back inflammation on March 28.

Simmons missed all of last season with that injury which required a microdiscectomy, which normally takes roughly 18 months to recover from. That would put him on track to begin next season healthy barring any setbacks but, according to Smith, this is a pattern of behavior for the oversized point guard.

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Stephen A. Smith Laments ‘Excuses’ for Ben Simmons

“I mean he’s the one…that brought up mental illness,” Smith said. “I didn’t bring that up. I didn’t say anything about that. I’m not making light of something like that. He brought that up. He said that was rationale. He said that he needed therapy. He said that he needed to talk to people. Then it’s a back injury, then it’s a knee injury, it’s all of these excuses not to play. But that brother never missed the check, though. He always makes sure the check is in the account. Always. And you are talking about James Harden and the 76ers, the team you quit on? The team you left hanging? The team that you were supposed to help deliver a championship as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft? You. You. That’s you.”

Simmons cited mental health as part of his season-long stand last year, something that was a point of contention for the Sixers before moving on. His relationship with the Sixers seemingly went South during the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

It was during Game 7 versus the Atlanta Hawks and Simmons, who was matched up with 6-foot-1 Trae Young, passed out of what looked like a clear layup.

After the game, Embiid called that the “turning point” of the game, and Simmons later expressed that he felt like he was the scapegoat. If it were unclear whether there was some resentment for a player whose on-court performance has been stunted by injuries and a newfound lack of aggression on offense, his former teammates have said as much.

Instead, Simmons averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists this past season and often left head coach Jacque Vaughn searching for answers on how to best utilize him.

“I better not see Ben Simmons,” Smith said. “All I’m gonna do is look at him…Sorry a**. That’s all I can think.it’s not because you play bad. James Harden played bad, and you gotta live with that. But he ain’t you. At least he showed up.”

Simmons is heading into the fourth year of a five-year, $177 million contract. His trade value has diminished to the point that it is believed the Nets would have to attach additional assets if they wanted to unload the remaining $78-plus million of that deal in a trade for a superstar this offseason.

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Nets Add to Jacque Vaughn’s Coaching Staff

Brooklyn’s offseason activities have been limited to pre-draft workouts and rumors of changes to the coaching staff. On the latter front, Brooklyn announced the hiring of Jay Hernandez, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Scotto previously reported on the Nets potentially adding former Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego to the bench as well.

In outgoing coaching news, Scotto also links Nets assistants Royal Ivey and Will Weaver to the Houston Rockets as they fill out new head coach and former Nets assistant Ime Udoka’s staff for next season.

Udoka was briefly a candidate for the Nets’ head coaching position following the firing of Steve Nash but, in the wake of his dismissal from the Boston Celtics due to an improper relationship with a subordinate, the Nets passed on Udoka and hired Vaughn. Vaughn began the season on Nash’s staff but survived his boss’ firing and received a multi-year extension during the season.

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