Hey guys, it’s AUGUST!
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, half of the TNT crew, talked about two of the Nets, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons, respectively, in interviews in Arizona and Australia.
No surprise, Sir Charles went after KD. But in a bit of a surprise, Shaq offered encouragement to Ben Simmons who had criticized Simmons last season.
First Barkley. Unlike many Nets fans, the Hall of Famer doesn’t think the return of KD is a good thing. And in the process, he continued the feud he has with Durant which goes back years. He spoke with an Arizona radio talk show.
“All the old guys, he get mad we say it, (but) he piggybacked on the Warriors to win his first two championships,” Barkley who retired ring-less, said Thursday of Durant, who already has two. “But if you go back and look at his career, as the best player and being the leader that all goes with that, he’s been an abject failure. Every time he’s had to be the leader and best player, he has not had success. That’s what us old guys think about him.”
Barkley then got personal, calling Durant “miserable.”
“He seems like a miserable person, man. I call him Mr. Miserable, he’s never going to be happy. Everybody’s given him everything on a silver platter. He was the man in Oklahoma City, they loved him, he owned the entire state. He bolts on them and wins back-to-back championships (with Golden State), and he’s still not happy. Then he goes to Brooklyn, they give him everything he wants and he’s still miserable.”
However, we are told Durant left Monday’s meeting in Los Angeles very happy. Meanwhile, Shaq went out of his way to praise Simmons and wish him well.
“He has a lot of potential,” O’Neal told Channel 7 in Australia. “He’s had a lot of personal problems, Ben doesn’t talk a lot, so nobody really knows what’s going on with him, but I wish him well, and I wish he could fight through what he’s going through and get to that next level.”
Shaq had previously called Simmons “soft” and “a cry baby,” which led to Simmons DM’ing his fellow LSU player to talk about things. Shaq told his Australian fans that he has been tough on Simmons because he’s a league “elder statesman.”
“I want him to succeed and I’ve been hard on him because I feel as an elder statesman it’s my job,” O’Neal explained, “I know what it takes to get to the top, top, top level and that guy knows what it takes to be great.”
Shaq also listed Simmons and Patty Mills as among Australia’s best basketball exports.
“Ben Simmons, Josh Giddey, Shane Heal — Luc Longley won multiple championships. Patty Mills is one of the greatest shooters in the NBA. Your country has represented basketball worldwide many times.”