Would you trade John Wall & 3 - 4 1st rounders for Ben Simmons?

Wouldn't date a Kardashian

 

Did you look at his numbers? To say they were "way down" seems like a gross exaggeration. In all actuality they were a slight dip below his career averages which makes sense considering he played slightly fewer minutes and with a less defined role as you so mentioned. As far as off court activities are concerned I see no problem with players enjoying the trappings that come along with being a professional athlete. If anything those are part of the perks of the job, although it's my hope that they'd keep the main thing the main thing and continue to work on their game. I question if Ben has.

That's what confuses me the most with Simmons. To date ole Benjamin has shown zero signs of working on the one ability that would unlock his game and take it to an otherworldly level. And it's not as if he'd have to become an all time shooter to do so, but rather a capable and confident one. Simmons needs to be a threat to score the damn ball at the very least. That's not much of an ask when the other parts of his game have been mainstays ever since he arrived in the NBA. The problem is Simmons knows exactly what his strengths are and caters to them all while refusing to work on the one aspect that's not all that difficult to correct.

For instance Lonzo Ball has been in the league for a similar amount of time and has completely retooled his broken jumpshot over the course of those years. He recognized a glaring weakness, locked himself in the gym and corrected it. That's all anyone is asking of Simmons, and if you ask me that's a small ask when receiving max money. Hell Kobe spoke of this exact flaw within Ben's game a while ago and warned that he'd regret his career when it was all said and done if he didn't put in the work necessary to improve upon it. Imagine if you were in the L and had a hall of famer tell you that.. They say, "Hey D-Rock, ya know if you were to improve on just this sole skill it would take both your game and your career to newfound heights." Do you think you might listen and take that to heart? I believe you would.

The stories surrounding his shooting are most unusual. Jalen Rose believes Ben's been shooting with his off hand the entire time. I take that with a grain a salt given the media's constant need to create storylines. Then leaks come out saying he never sought to truly improve upon it since he's been with the Sixers as he prefers to play to his strengths. Sports psychologists have worked with him to no avail. I'm personally of the belief that his lack of confidence in his shot making ability stems from a serious lack of reps. Simply put the man needs to lock himself in the gym and get those shots up. I say that as it's tough having a guy this talented out on the floor late into crucial games if he's not going to threaten the defense and keep them honest.

That's why i question if he's more concerned with living the life of an NBA player rather than embracing the grind and commitment that it takes. In Ben's particular case I'd say he has it easy. Most players have a couple aspects of their game that need a good deal of improvement whereas Simmons has one major weakness. You'd think that's an easy fix. How long until he puts in the work? Do we want to be the team that pays him to find out? I get that it's exciting to have a high caliber player available that fits many of our needs, but at the same time I don't see Maori doing us any favors. At least not any time soon.

 

There's more to bball than shooting but shooting is a vital piece of a player kit.

You can find players who box out and defend and do little things and still shoot. We got dudes on the squad named Nwaba and Theis who do just that.

I dont care what the situation is at Philly they are irrelevant to me. Point is still dont understand why the Rox should bring in Simmons who cant shoot into this team.

 

Giannis can't shoot beyond 10 feet but just won the freaking whole thing.

*moves like a guard but is 6'10"
*Can defend Centers because he is 245 pounds and not a skinny
weakling. Chet Holmgren spine might snap if someone opens the
gym door too quickly.
*Just like Giannis, once they get a forced switch they can back up to
the mid court and get a running start....?the defender is dead in the
water unless the defense builds a two to three man wall. That leaves
open shooters everywhere. Unlike the Sixers, we would not have
Embiid/Tobias Harris shooting 3's.....but actual bigs that can shoot
3's like Christian Wood. No team should fear Embiid/Tobias shooting
3's. Teams actually encourage them to shoot the 3 while they say off
defenders to build that wall vs Simmons.
*Can defend 1-5......DPOY candidate year in and year out.
*You/we have not seen Simmons in an up tempo pace and space system.
Because Embiid and Tobias Harris kill your Pace. Bucks built a team
that create Pace and Space around Giannis that covers up his flaws
of not being able to shoot......so will any team that obtains Simmons.

You don't care about Philly because but don't understand that he was used wrong.
Just like Kevin Porter was used wrong in Cleveland.

Your thinking and timeline is skewed. By the time whoever we get this coming
summer develops......we end up losing players like Porter/Wood.

So you have us in a vicious cycle where we always are accumulating talent while
losing talent. At some point you have to say, hey, let's go. Let's fight the world
with what we got and see where we stand instead of always hiding in the
basement scared of our own shadow.

You just have to accept the fact that this Rockets team while young is better than you
expect. Washington made the playoffs with Westbrook last season. Probably good
enough to be the 10th or 9th best in the East. Our equal as we will probably be
the same but in the West. The player the Rockets select at #9 or 10th may be ok....
but doesn't move the needle enough to waste time.

Rockets just become training ground for young players like Porter, Wood, Tate, Kenyon to
get some experience and just move on to bigger and better pastures.

Every team winning a championship brings in free agents/trade to get them over the hump.
Warriors brought in Iggy, Bogut, Harrison Barnes.....then Durant.
Lakers brought in AD, Danny Green, D-12, Morris
Bucks brought in Jrue Holiday, Tucker, Bobby Portis and Brooks from the Nets.

When free agents don't want to go to Houston to be a part of kindergarten camp....
then you have to trade for some vets.

 

You keep saying this, but where is this coming from? The only time the Rockets have been interested in Simmons was when we were trading Harden and we ended up choosing the guy that signed with the Heat for the vet min over Simmons because we believed he would be easier to move on from if needed. Other than that, it's usually just been rumors floated by "analysts" due to Simmons working out with Wall and the Rockets needing to move on from Wall. There has been nothing showcasing actual interest from the Rockets, especially in recent rumors about this malcontent. I am sure like any org, we would be interested in a low ball offer that we can quickly move on from or to get in on some side action as a 3rd team, but nothing has suggested we are seriously interested in him since we traded Harden.

 

Denver was able to build a solid squad from the ground up...

Rockets are on that same trajectory....

Just better hope once it's time to REALLY pay 5 years from now..Tillman doesn't hide the wallet.

 

Are we seriously trying to compare Simmons to Giannis now?

Giannis might suck shooting outside of 10ft but the key here is that he is not afraid to take the open 3pt shot when he needs to. Ben Simmons took 10 attempts the entire season from the 3pt line, Giannis took that many in a playoffs series alone. Additionally, when was the last time you saw Giannis pass up an open DUNK on a grounded opposing PG because he was too scared to be sent to the foul line?

Yours posts about Simmons is seriously becoming increasingly deranged.

 

What becomes of KPJ and his development if we were to bring Benny in? Is he just tossed to the wayside? For we know Simmons needs the ball in his hands in order to be effective. That's abundantly clear. Ben's at his his best in the open court where over 1/3 of his assists are generated. He's lethal running in space with the ball in his hands. Are people hoping to Greek the Freak it here with Simmons? Giannis may not be a great shooter but he sure as hell isn't scared to take those shots either. The same can't be said of Simmons. His brilliant transition play also takes a hit come playoff time when the game starts to slow down and that pace isn't quite what it used to be. That's a time when players flaws and weaknesses get keyed in on and exposed and Simmons is not without his warts. There's a real concern that yes this guy can get you a nice playoff seeding and probably cruise through the regular season, but then those pesky playoffs come around and it's another ballgame altogether.

Don't get me wrong here, Simmons is without question a superstar in this league and one with exceptionally rare gifts. His defense is all world season after season. Ben can guard point guards, wings and bigs which all sounds amazing, and it is. It's truly special. Benny's also exceptional at creating open looks from three given his driving abilities and adept passing. Simmons can and will get in the lane seemingly whenever he so choose. The problem is he doesn't always choose to. There's often times when Ben simply will not be all that aggressive, going so far as to shy away. He doesn't have that mentality of alright I'm going out there tonight and I'm dropping thirty. I'm not talking about shooting jumpers at this point either. We're talking about being aggressive and assertive out there on the court. That would only serve to open up his passing game even more when an extra defender is eventually forced to commit to him where upon he'd easily find the open man.

I guess I'm really just wildly unsure of how I feel about paying someone $37 some odd million to be the top guy (or one of the top guys) and then not being able to trust them with the ball in their hands at the end of crucial playoff games. It's a little maddening. We're not trying to get close here. We're trying to win the championship and Ben's just an odd piece to build around in today's game given his nonexistent shot making abilities. .Is it a total and utter lack of confidence or just an extreme unwillingness to shoot the damn thing even when told to? How do you even fix that? For most superstars their confidence is at a ten because they've put in the hours and trust their work. He says he works on it year in and year out, but we've yet to ever see it transition to the court. That scares me.

At the end of the day is he really a centerpiece you'd want to build around? I feel like Philly tried that. Sure his pairing with Joel wasn't ideal. but they surely tried to make life easier on Ben by adding players that catered to his strengths whilst jettisoning those that didn't. Joel for his part worked on his game and would step outside to free up lanes for Ben to slice through, but Simmons surely never returned that favor for Embiid. Who knows, maybe I just have entirely too much faith in our young guns to want to disrupt that by adding a ball dominant non offensive scoring threat that you dread having on the court late in ctritical playoff matchups.

 

Giannis took years to get his body and game right.

So did Wood.

And both still improving.

That Simmons was an All Star sonearly while his game is still work in progress should not be discounted.

 

5 years from now is such an arbitrary number.

You take your opportunities EVERY year, nothing is guaranteed.

And building a "solid" squad is enough for Nuggets, that should not be the Rockets standard.

Use every resource to improve, building ONLY through the draft is myopic.

 

I don't want either shooting 3's

Bucks would do better if Giannis would just stop it

 

Look, if you are so unaware that Rockets inquired about Simmons then there is no reason to continue.

Do your own due diligence.

 

In KPJ we trust.

 

Ummm Denver. Drafted Mudiay 1st Rd 7th pick.
We're 10th with 33 wins then 9th with 40 wins and then
brought in Milsap/Trey Lyles and moved up to 46 wins.

The whole time bringing in free agents to go with Faried until he left

Will Barton was with Portland 3 years before Denver. Torrey Craig played for Bucks last year

Nurkic and Jokic we're with them but is Nurkic now?

So they have drafted Mudiay, Nurkic, Jokic, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr.

Brought in Aaron Gordon and lost Gary Harris.

So I don't get the comparisons. Since 15/16 Denver has done draft and free agency/trades
each season. Not strictly draft. Since 15/16 they have brought in Wilson Chandler, Richard
Jefferson, Devon Harris, Gallinari, Roy Hibbert, Mike Miller, Nick Young, Jerami Grant, others.

 

if Simmons isn’t gonna shoot, the least he could do is become a 75% free throw shooter and be ultra aggressive attacking the rim, but he’s content to be what he is

u can’t build a team around a guy who wants to handle the rock all game, refuses to shoot, and only gets u 15 ppg…and make no mistake, he wants to built around, not be a small-ball 5 or PF setting screens and rolling to the rim who only playmakes occasionally

 

Simmons is also extremely soft and has bad council…he just set 9 mil on fire

showing up and just being disengaged and not trying would’ve been a far better move…might even expedite a trade if he did that

 

I wouldn’t build around him, but he can be a complimentary piece.

DD

 

he doesn’t want to be a complimentary piece

he wants to be the PG and have a bunch of shooting around him and a clear lane to the rim which is why he didn’t love playing with Jimmy Butler and is crying about playing with Embiid

 

Cowards do not comprehend courage.

Their agendas are more important than team success.

Adding Simmons shores up obvious weaknesses on this Rockets team - adds another skilled ball handler/passer, improves rebounding, improves pace, adds more length/athleticism, improves 1V1 DEFENSE, improves switching, adds elite disruptor, improves defensive communication, adds hard screen setter, improves and encourages cutting, backstops Green & Wood and adds legit All Star to starting 5.

Using 3ball and off court excuses to justify not taking a chance on young All Star caliber player is ignorance.

Scoot and Wood had similar knocks on them.

There is no such thing as a player without flaws - from the lowliest player to the GOAT.

Anyone can find negatives, especially in a time like now where being negative, conflating storylines, exaggerating "truths", inflating situations and propagating misinformation has become the norm.

Having the ability to see fits, devise successful systems, thinking out of the box and creatively maximizing player's strength is what the Rockets USED to be known for.

Jeff Green is a prime example of rejuvenating a player, reimagining his role and maximizing his productivity.

And he is far from 25.

 

Always said trade cannot happen if Simmons does not want to be in Houston or commit to a role.

That said, Stone considered trading for Simmons even without those guarantees.

Morey was one of the 1st GMs who didnt care if player wanted to be in Houston, he believed that he and MDA could convince them to re-sign once they had them in house.