The Philadelphia 76ers have been without the services of Ben Simmons throughout the entire 2021-22 season. During a recent episode of Inside the NBA, Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal weighed in on Simmons sitting out and called him a "crybaby" for the way that he's handled the situation with the Sixers.
On his personal podcast "The Big Podcast," O'Neal revealed that he received direct messages from Simmons on social regarding the "crybaby" comment.
"He's acting like a baby and he kind of got in my DMs," O'Neal said. "He said some things and I said some things back. All I said was that you're leaving your man [Sixers teammate Joel Embiid] out there and you need to play. That's all I said. He was probably mad because I was his LSU brothers and we still are."
Shaq added that Simmons is putting Embiid in a tough spot.
"I stay on big guys because I care about them," O'Neal said during a Jan. 27 episode of Inside the NBA. "I want them to play a certain way. I want them to play at a certain level. The difference between [Embiid] and his soft partner [Simmons] is, he can take criticism without being a crybaby, and he still wants to play. Me and Charles [Barkley] ... we told [Embiid] to his face what he needs to do.
"He didn't cry, he didn't say 'I want to get traded,' he didn't complain about mistreatment. And that's the difference. That's why I like and respect him. The other guy, I don't respect him. Great players get criticized. But the great players also step up to the criticism and perform. So this other guy, I don't respect him. I would get rid of him."
Simmons has been absent from the Sixers since head coach Doc Rivers threw him out of a practice back on Oct. 19. Following that, Simmons was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and hasn't really been heard from since.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Oct. 22 that Simmons informed the Sixers that he wasn't mentally ready to play and would meet with medical professionals. On Tuesday, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that Simmons has been working out at the team facility in the event that he is moved at the trade deadline.
"It has been seven months since he asked the Sixers to explore a trade for him and nearly four months since he returned to Philadelphia," Shelburne wrote. "He has not meaningfully participated in a practice or even a film session since. He has just been there: in body but never in spirit."
Sixers president Daryl Morey has maintained that he's looking to acquire a star player in exchange for Simmons.
Even without the services of Simmons, the Sixers still are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and only trail the Chicago Bulls by 1.5 games for the top spot. With Embiid having an MVP season, the Sixers have won five of their last six games with the only defeat being a 106-103 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
