Shaquille O'Neal: 76ers' Ben Simmons 'ain't that damn good'

Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O'Neal: 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons 'ain't that damn good'

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/9/21

The latest twist in the saga involving Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Ben Simmons intending to skip the start of training camp to orchestrate a trade included ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst saying Wednesday that Simmons had told his current employer "it's not his job to fix his trade value" months after one unnamed NBA executive claimed the 25-year-old was "so broken" coming off his woeful offensive production during playoff games.

Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal didn't dance around the subject on the latest edition of "The Big Podcast with Shaq" when he directly said that Simmons "ain't that damn good" and needs to concentrate more on improving aspects of his game, such as draining jump shots against defenders and not just versus air in practice sessions.

Shaq and Chuck share their thoughts on Ben Simmons' reported trade request from Philly

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O'Neal referenced Simmons shooting 34.2% from the free-throw line during the postseason and also passing up an open and uncontested dunk.

"And I know as a player, the first thing I do is look in the player's eyes," O'Neal explained. "That man was out there terrified. Not terrified of playing, but terrified of being fouled and missing free throws."

Needless to say, it seems Shaq wouldn't match Philadelphia's reported asking price of an All-Star, draft choices and pick swaps to acquire Simmons if he was running a team ahead of the upcoming NBA season.

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