Gilbert Arenas says Sixers threw Ben Simmons under the bus

In a lengthy response to a post by Etan Thomas on Instagram, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas said that the Philadelphia 76ers lacked accountability in the situation surrounding Ben Simmons.

"Instead of being accountable for their role, his own TEAMMATES used him as the excuse, which is a no-no," Arenas wrote. He referenced Simmons' defensive performance against Trae Young in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and also referred to other mistakes in critical NBA games past, including the Cavs in the 2018 Finals.

"A player knows when he f*cks up and has to live with that, but when [your] own brothers throw [you] under the bus for a moment or a few bad games, there's no coming back... It's us against the world and when [you] get outcasted, [you] never trust that group again," he added.

Simmons recently told Sixers teammates and medical personnel that he is "not mentally ready" to play for the team. The star guard has yet to play in games since that loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Thomas had former Sixers guard Eric Snow on his podcast, The Rematch, to discuss the situation: