Simmons fires back after Pat Bev quitting accusation

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It seems more people care about Ben Simmons' return to the NBA than the experts make out.

First it was ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith saying Simmons should pay the Sacramento Kings to play for them - instead of the $3.5m deal the NBA franchise has signed him to - and now former NBA guard and outspoken personality Patrick Beverley has hit out at the three-time NBA All-Star.

Speaking on a recent Barstool Sports show, Beverley accused Simmons of quitting and believed other talents, who were out of the league, deserved a spot before the Melbourne-born product.

"First off, um, I don't like this at all. I don't like this at all," Beverley, who spent the last few seasons playing professionally in Europe, said.

"I don't think it's fair that you can quit the game of basketball and come back. Like, you can quit with not having a ton of success, right?

"You can quit because the game is hard and it's stressful, and you're not playing well, and the fans are on you, and the media is on you.

"When we've been looking at Victor Oladipo, who's been competing, who's degraded himself, went to the D-League, right, or G-League. We got Gabe Vincent who don't have a job, right? We got Cam Thomas who don't have a job, who, like, putting in that work year after year, and, like, a guy can just quit and come back anytime.

“I don’t want y’all to be thinking I’m hating.

“So, congrats to Ben Simmons. You took someone’s roster spot who I think, you know, deserves it more than you, if we being totally transparent.”

But Simmons quickly fired back at Beverley on Instagram.

“Walk away…. ?? 😂😂😂 I played two years not physically,” he wrote.

“This ain’t no handout. I worked my a** off to be in this position… And I’m very grateful to be in position to play the game I fu**ing love! Y’all will continue to make up stories for your own benefits & that’s more telling about who you are 🤷‍♂️”

It's not the first time Beverley has said "stuff" both on the floor and off the floor – in the spirit of "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."

Not only did Beverley tell Steph Curry he's got next ... he also said this:

• "Y'all a little different without KD, I see. Uh-huh, y'all cheated long enough. It's OK. Y'all had a good run. Back to reality." – October 24, 2019, to Golden State Warriors staff, about the post-Durant Warriors.
• "Emotions got the best of me last night gang. My bad wasn't meant for you. Congrats on making it to the Finals." – July 1, 2021, on X, about Chris Paul, the day after shoving him to the floor in a Western Conference finals elimination game.
• "Yal gotta chill. Never said this ever. Stop listening to the internet." – August 19, 2021, on X, about the "next five years are mine" line everyone still attributes to him. See the misattribution note below, because this is the best story in the file.
• "CP can't guard nobody. Everybody in the NBA know that... he's a cone." – May 16, 2022, on ESPN's Get Up, about Chris Paul, the morning after Phoenix's Game 7 home blowout.
• "Ben Simmons is a hell of a talent. It's good seeing him back out there... but he was chirping at one of my rookies... You got eight turnovers... talk to me." – 🇦🇺 October 18, 2023, on The Pat Bev Podcast With Rone, about Ben Simmons, two days after being ejected from the bench for chirping at him.
• "I've got a daughter and I like to call myself a girl dad. What do you think about the Josh Giddey situation?" – ⚠️ December 9, 2023, on ESPN2's NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart, about Josh Giddey, unprompted, during a game Giddey was not playing in.
• "I like the color of the courts, not jail courts, but basketball courts." – ⚠️ December 9, 2023, same broadcast, about Josh Giddey, after Kevin Hart tried to change the subject.
• "I'm not gonna duck smoke... when they make the clip about Josh Giddey and the young girl and they just dead quiet, they don't wanna talk about it no more." – ⚠️ January 24, 2024, on The Pat Bev Podcast, about Josh Giddey and about the media covering him.
• "Got a tech because I called Giddey soft. 🤦🏾‍♂️ this 🌎 we Live in Luv Gang❤️" – March 24, 2024, on X, about Josh Giddey, after being whistled while guarding him in a 118-93 Milwaukee win in which Giddey posted team-high numbers.
• "Not Fair at all. Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair." – May 2, 2024, on X, about the Indiana Pacers fans he threw a ball at during an elimination game. Six hours later, same account: "But I have to be better. And I will."
• "It was like, 'Nah, you had your time and now it was time to switch it up.' It wasn't ever like 5 years." – September 2024, on The Pat Bev Podcast, about what he actually said to Stephen Curry in 2019.
• "I don't think it's fair that you can quit the game of basketball and come back... This is the guy you pick?" – 🇦🇺 September 11, 2026, on Barstool Sports, about Ben Simmons signing with Sacramento.

On a different note, four-time NBA champion Draymond Green said he was happy to see Simmons back in the NBA.

"Ben Simmons is a talent that doesn't grow on trees and that we don't get to see in the NBA every day," he said on The Draymond Green Show.

"Ben Simmons got off to a very promising start in his career then a lot of people tried to blame his game and not his injuries, it sucks that when guys get injuries, ultimately people start blaming them as a player.

"I know Ben Simmons was dealing with a back issue and I know most people don't understand what that means, but let me tell you as someone who's dealt with a back issue, it's debilitating.

"Most importantly, it's mentally draining.

"Now you couple that with all of the ridiculing that you receive, that comes your way due to the injury, and it's brutal so I felt for Ben Simmons and I'm happy to see him back in the NBA."