Note to Stone, dont you DARE trade our pick for Ben Simmons

dear stone,

do eet!

 

Agreed. No competent GM is touching Simmons right now especially with that contract.

this weak report (or opinion rather) from dudes with no sources doesn’t event deserve a thread.

 

He does eat.

How you explain his frame.

 

he's inherently fatt like hardon

 

I think the shortlist for stars Stone is eyeballing for a fast rebuild are in two buckets:

Old stars:
Steph, Kawhi, Paul George, Beal, Lillard, Gobert, and maybe Klay Thompson

and New stars:

Luka (Cuban would cut his ears off before doing that), Zion, and that's about it.

The chances of a team trading one of these players is LIKE MAYBE 1%. It's just not likely to happen unless a player forces their way to Houston the way Harden did to Brooklyn. There's just no way that Stone has Simmons valued on the same playing field as someone like Luka or Steph Curry. I think he might give up one of the Nets picks and Wall, but this year knowing that the #2 pick is his with 3 potential superstar talents to take and build around.... Stone is not giving that up unless it's for a true superstar which Ben Simmons is not by any measure. He could be if he developed his game, but he's nowhere valued as a #2 pick in a good draft, and no Rockets fan should lose a moment of sleep worrying if he'll trade it for Simmons.

(side note: I think if anyone is truly seriously targeted, my guess is it's Lillard)

 

I also think that Stone would only trade for someone like Lillard if it was a package deal where Lillard was courting another star to team up with in Houston like Kawhi did with PG with the Clips.

When Stone said what he said, I think he is thinking much more pie in the sky then you guys might think. Right now I'm sure he's hoping that Lillard and Kawhi are really great friends on the side, and they have a mutual affection for the Breakfast Klub.

 

Definitely would not this year, but what about next offseason?

• Wall will be expiring
• The Rockets will have another lottery pick talent (or two) on the roster most likely to go with this year's pick and might be ready to compete
• Less expectations, less pressure might help turn Simmons around
• The Sixers will probably have another disappointing playoff run

Simmons/Seth Curry matches up pretty well with Wall's contract for the 22-23 season. Maybe throw in a late Rocket's first and a second.

 

1. There's no need to get rid of Wall's contract right now because it's not like we are built to lure/attract free agents this summer. You keep Wall, hope he starts the season healthy, hope he plays well, and then try to move him at the deadline.

2. No way in hell am I trading the #2 for Simmons. His value is at an all time low right now and while you want to buy low, you don't want to use something as valuable as the #2 pick in the draft on a guy that needs as much work as an incoming rookie in terms of mental make up.

Outside of the obvious players like Luka or Zion, I would trade the #2 to OKC for SGA. I thought it might have been a fluke year due to CP3 being on the roster during bubble season but SGA has grown into a legit player this past season. And the dude is only 22 years old. He's the type of player I'd send the #2 out for.

 

Simmon's contract is longer than Wall's. And you're attaching assets?! Simmon's contract alone makes him a negative.

 

Simmons age is 24 so there is a chance that he still develops his jumper to something respectable vs Wall who is 30 and we know what he brings. The attached asset is only for because Simmons is much younger. I understand that his contract is longer but we are in long rebuild anyeay so we have to take our chance and this is one of those gamble that we can do given where we are at this point.

 

My dude Raf Stone would never

 

Wallaby wanker of a bloke he is.....

 

we SHOULD trade for simmons

but only if the outgoing trade chips are Wall/EG/one our late 1sts/the Washington 1st from RWB trade

Lineup becomes:

KPJ
Jalen Green
J.Tate
B. Simmons
C. Wood

 

I really don’t believe he’s that stupid

 

Walls contract has a $41 million cap hit. Simmons is less at around 30 mil, but he doesn’t become a free agent until 2025, And I doubt he improves much at the free-throw line or becomes an outside shooter. That’s just not his game. He scored a total of 19 points over the last three playoff games before being eliminated.

Let’s face it, Simmons has been exposed. He’s a good defender, and has great court vision, but he’s not good enough to play at a championship level. Why invest in a long-term contract for a player they can’t take you to the promise land?

At this point I think you ride it out with Wall’s contract until he becomes a free agent in 2023, unless a team is desperate enough to take his contract, or consider a buyout. Personally I’d rather see a buyout, although that probably won’t happen.

My hope is that the Rockets start building a core of young players through the draft and stop taking on long-term contracts for players that will never be good enough to win a championship.

 

*Note to Patrick

 

Yikes! Hopefully Rafael sees this thread before it's too late!!

 

@Ferntits

 

Simmons isn't perfect, but damn he would be pretty sick with Christian Wood. Talk about a perfect pairing for both players. I can't give up our number 2, but I'd give up Wall/EG and our late firsts maybe...

 

Philly local media reaction on agent Rich Paul, who want to dedicate where Ben goes if he gets traded.