If anyone wants to make Isiah Thomas an NBA GM again, he’s got a move lined up: trading for Ben Simmons.
Thomas said he would deal for Simmons, and that the fault for his issues lies with the 76ers.
“Here’s what happened,” Thomas said on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.” “He had a bad moment. He had some bad moments in the playoffs, right? What your team, your coach and your organization is supposed to do in your bad moments, they are supposed to protect you. They ain’t supposed to air your dirty laundry out.”
That was in reference to Sixers coach Doc Rivers failing to answer in the affirmative when asked whether a team could win a title with Simmons. The point guard struggled badly in a second-round loss against the Hawks, appearing unwilling to shoot the ball even uncontested, but things have since gotten much worse.
Simmons has demanded a trade from the Sixers, been thrown out of practice for not trying and is now sitting games out due to mental health. He’s also become Public Enemy No. 1 in Philadelphia.
It seems untenable for him to play for the Sixers again. Thomas sees that as the franchise’s fault.
“They all mishandled the situation,” Thomas said. “From what I’ve seen. Now Ben did get his feelings hurt. Ben’s feelings are hurt. You as the president of the team, you gotta go — you gotta put your ego aside and you gotta go massage that player to get him back.”
He compared Simmons’ issues to Shaquille O’Neal shooting free throws, saying no one with the Lakers ever gave public criticism to O’Neal when he struggled at the line.
“I didn’t hear Phil Jackson dogging Shaq,” Thomas said. “I didn’t know the inside of that Laker organization. Now they may have been saying, hey, big fella we need to work on free throws. But they weren’t publicly like, dissing him.”