Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers clearly want to part ways this offseason, but Charles Barkley is hoping his former team bucks the recent trend of allowing star players to dictate where they are traded.
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.”
For what it’s worth, Simmons reportedly wants out of Philly so badly that he is willing to play for any other team. Paul is said to be angry with the Sixers over the way they’ve handled some of his clients. Barkley clearly doesn’t think the team should care.
