Stephen A. Smith’s unhinged comments about the always-injured Ben Simmons prompted a reaction from his agent Bernie Lee.
Simmons is easily one of the most injured players in the league and was limited to 15 games in 2023-24 with lingering back injuries.
The 27-year-old has played in just 57 games for the Nets isince the 2020-21 season, after he was obtained by Brooklyn in a blockbuster deal that sent James Harden to the Sixers.
He’s made a hefty $86.3 million in that time.
Smith recently claimed on The OG’s Show that the only NBA player’s injury he’s ever questioned is Simmons’ and that “he’s lucky he’s not in prison for theft.”
Smith added, “He don’t want to play. He don’t love the game. He don’t love the game. I’m not saying he wasn’t injured, but I’m talking about an absence of love for the game. Remember, he was missing games before he was injured.
“They pointed to mental health. We can’t dismiss the importance of mental health. The reason why I’m critical of it is because that never prevented you from making sure that check was in your account every two weeks. He never missed it. … He always made sure that cash was there. But he wanted to play? So, don’t get me started with him.”
Simmons’ agent Lee was asked for his thoughts on Smith’s comments and he certainly didn’t hold back.
“Quite frankly,” Lee told NetsDaily. “I think Stephen A is an idiot and I only wish he still had he’s [sic] TV show so I could sit in his audience and voice my opinion to him while he attempted to do his job … alas … it got canceled.”
Nets General Manager Sean Marks thinks Simmons is ripe for a comeback year.
“Its a big year for us and Ben, he’s part of our franchise for sure and he’s young enough he could rekindle and get back to his old form,” Marks told ESPN over the weekend.
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