Stephen A. Smith text reveals Simmons is ‘constantly babied’

The slams just keep coming for Ben Simmons with the three-time Aussie NBA All-Star copping it sweet out of Philadelphia.

Days out from the game seven capitulation, the hits just keep coming for Ben Simmons as the NBA pile on continues.

Simmons was widely panned throughout the playoffs for his unwillingness to take even the easiest of shots, including passing when under the basket with an open dunk on the offing.

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76ers star Joel Embiid appeared to lay the blame at Simmons’ feet post game and it’s sent the criticism of the Aussie into overdrive.

With much of the NBA expecting Simmons to be traded out of Philly, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has delivered another slam from an unnamed source who texted him during First Take.

“I just received a text from someone very, very close to the situation in Philadelphia about Ben Simmons. This is a quote, it’s not me, it’s them. Quote: ‘He doesn’t work, he doesn’t listen, and everyone around him is family, and he’s constantly babied’. That’s the word out on Ben Simmons,” Smith said.

First Take host Max Kellerman added that be believed the Lakers would be the best place for him because “It needs to come from a veteran player that kind of mentorship, someone like LeBron James could do it. It needs to come from someone with real gravitas who has a game similar to his who could take him under his wing.”

But Smith fired back.

“Oh please, he’s represented by Klutch Sports. That’s close enough to LeBron James. They’ve talked.”

Ben Simmons appears to be at his wits end in Philly.

It comes as the talk out of Philly has never been more negative on the Aussie 24-year-old.

But coach Doc Rivers, who has taken his own fair share of the blame for the 76ers loss to the Hawks, said that Simmons’ jump shot and confidence issues can still be fixed.

“I’m very bullish on Ben still,” Rivers said Monday. “But there’s work. There is. And Ben will be willing to do it, and that’s the key. Sometimes you have to go through stuff to see it, and to be honest with it.”

That strikes a different tone from Rivers’ comments after the 76ers’ Game 7 loss to the Hawks. Rivers said “I don’t know” when asked if Simmons could be the leader of a championship team.

The 24-year-old is coming off a disastrous playoff series. Simmons did not attempt a shot in the fourth quarter in the final game of the 76ers’ season.

This marked the fourth consecutive game in which he shied away from shooting in big moments. Simmons finished the game with just five points on 2-for-4 shooting.

The 6-foot-10 point guard’s shooting struggles reached the free-throw line this season.

Simmons set an infamous free-throw record in this year’s playoffs by going 25-for-73 from the charity stripe.

Simmons’ free-throw percentage of 34.2 per cent is the lowest percentage in a single playoff in NBA history.

The fans seem to have had enough of Simmons as well.

“I think some of the stuff is obvious,” Rivers said. “We’re not hiding that Ben has to become a better free-throw shooter, and a more confident free-throw shooter.

“If that happens, I really believe a lot of the other parts of his game will follow. I said that before the season started. The first thing I said was, ‘We got to get him to the line 10 times a night.’ So, we’ve got to put in work so he can get there. But if we can get him there, man, his game goes to a different level.”

Simmons received backlash from fans following his performance this post-season. They have been ruthless all over social media. He even was called out by some big NBA names.

“Obviously what Ben just went through, I can’t imagine that. Because he has so much greatness in all the things around him that he does,” Rivers said. “There are areas that he can fix, quickly, in my opinion, and get better, that will take him to another level.

“Sometimes you don’t know why you’re in different places, you know what I mean? But this may be one of them. I look at this as a great challenge, but definitely a doable one.”

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.