Ben Simmons wants out of Philadelphia and Charles Barkley isn’t feeling that request.
Barkley discussed the Simmons situation during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic’s “The Mike Missanelli Show” this week. He mentioned how Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, has a history of forcing teams to trade his clients to specific destinations.
“You know how that group (Rich Paul and Klutch Sports) works. They try to trade their players to where they want to (play),” Barkley said. “With Anthony Davis, they had better deals from Boston and maybe even New York and they’re like, ‘No, he’s gonna go to L.A. and play with LeBron or he’s not gonna play.’ They just bully the league.”
Barkley said he hopes the 76ers will show “some stones” and get the best possible return for Simmons, even if it comes from a team that the former first round pick isn’t fond of.
“At some point, a team in the league has got to stand up and say, ‘Wait a minute, I paid your guy. You can’t bully me to trade him and me take some trash back,’” Barkley said of Paul. “I’m hoping somebody in the Sixers organization has got some stones.”
Regardless of how Barkley feels, the 76ers and Simmons need a clean break from each other.
