Ben Simmons is having a very hard time right now as he continues to fight with the Philadelphia 76ers. Simmons is refusing to play and at this point, he just wants to be traded. For now, it doesn't seem like a trade is going to happen anytime soon, and it has forced Simmons into a bad situation, that he ultimately created.
While many around the league believe Simmons is to blame for all of this, there are still some people out there who think he can be redeemed. One such person is NBA legend Isiah Thomas, who recently told Shaquille O'Neal that he believes Simmons can someday become MVP of the league. As Thomas explains, all Simmons has to learn how to do is shoot some free throws.
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“To me Ben Simmons is not a broken player. He was their best defender. He was an All-Star. And he led them in assists. Now what Ben Simmons’ problem is not that he can’t shoot the basketball, his problem is he can’t make free throws as a point guard,” Thomas said. “As a point guard, the leader of the team, if Ben Simmons became a better foul-shooter, Ben Simmons will be averaging 19 points a game, eight rebounds, eight assists, and nobody would have a problem with Ben Simmons. [He] needs to get in the gym and work on foul shooting.”
Thomas even likened Simmons to Magic Johnson, who ended up winning league MVP after working on his free throw ability. He then went on to say that if he were an NBA GM, he would trade for Simmons right now.
Needless to say, Thomas still sees a lot in the Sixers star.