Report: Houston Rockets have been searching market for ‘franchise centerpiece-worthy player

Exactly this.

 

Ehh Jaden Ivey is a pretty damn good shooter from the outside and Green is likely to be one as well. As far as it influencing the draft, I wouldn't try to trade for Simmons until this off season, if at all. I am just saying Simmons could help the Rockets if they choose to go that route.

 

So he was scared to shoot a lay up because he could see into the future and knew his coach would say he did not know if he could be a championship pg?

How is that dogging somebody?

I am beginning to think people have not actually heard what the coach actually said about Simmons.

 

Simmons is incredibly weak mentality

What Embiid and Doc Rivers said wasn’t nice, but c’mon, you’re really about to just sit out an entire season? He’s probably scared to death of that Philly crowd. He wouldn’t be able to handle a Philly home game. They’d have him all fcked up.

free throw issue got so much in his head he was passing up shots at the rim…maybe he won’t be in his head as much in Houston since he could miss all the free throws and have all the mediocre 10 point games he wants here, the Rockets fan base and home crowd is nowhere near as ruthless…there’d be a lot less pressure

 

dude... if u dont agree with my take - that's fine... but you dont need to be a jerk about it... I'm just on here discussing how I think our team can best improve - no need to be adversarial about it....

The Spurs tanked to get Duncan - then they brought in Pops who basically molded the team from then until present day... Duncan was a really good player (somewhat overrated imo but whatever) but he was by no means a lock to a championship... There are tons of great players that never won a ring (AI, Barkley, etc) so simply having Duncan assured the Spurs of nothing... imo it was Pops ability to get buy in from his players that pushed them towards team goals over personal one...

When I speak of culture I'm talking about a team first attitude... not guys chasing personal stats... guys willing to sacrifice to do what is needed for the betterment of the team, consistent effort on both ends of the court, having confidence in the coach and fo to do the right thing - not second guessing and b****ing... etc...

and even in this instance... Tony Parker supposedly banged Brett Barry's wife - so there's that break with culture, but sh*t happens...

"Top teams dont need developmental players like KPJ"....need? no... but good teams usually have some future pieces in the pike... Regardless, point being, how many teams wouldnt allow a guy to walk out at half time - and only endure a 1 game suspension? I dont think many orgs would be so lenient regarding a player of KPJs level... I think that such a slap on the wrist sets a poor precedent going forward and we need a higher level of accountability... Do you not agree with that?

 

It's amazing to me that people ignore how great he was before passing up a layup. Yes he overpassed and ultimately made a mistake but if Thybulle wasn't flat footed or maybe passed it back to Simmons it wouldn't be such a big deal.

-edit-
just to add, imo his only real issue is poor FT shooting. But that can be worked on and 1 point per possession isn't terrible statically and has a ton of other benefits if team generates a lot of fouls.

 

that man was shooting 34% from the line in the playoffs, stop…

2nd round series against Toronto in 2019 he averaged a whopping 12 points and took just 5 shots in game 7 while playing 42 minutes

that’s who you’d be paying over 30 mil to…

not to mention you’d need at least a good #1 and #2 scoring option and multiple guys that can shoot surrounding him or you’re wasting your time

 

Did you say that tim duncan was overrated and proceed to put iverson in the same sentence? I’m closer to iverson in value then iverson is to the duncan…..and that’s not an exaggeration

 

Never said he wasn't a good player, he is just someone who needs a well oiled machine. Like the Worriers.

The Rockets are debris and a pile of metal.

They are in need of a 23 year old Harden from OKC.

Everyone gets what they need and be happier about it.

I really do not want to pay Simmons long term.
If you get another Ben from the draft, I could live with that for few years.

 

How does Simmons maximize the cap? He makes a larger positive impact on the Rockets than any free agents they will be likely to sign with the cap space or players they trade for.

He isn't going to change, he really doesn't have to change. The expectations and role he has will change. It is no different than what teams have done with other mentally weak and flawed players, you put them in a position to maximize their strengths and cover their weaknesses when possible.

The Sixers haven't tried to do the same things. The Sixers expected him to be a franchise player and the second best scorer on the team.... and he isn't that and I don't think he ever will be. When it came down to it, they needed Simmons to be their second best scorer and that isn't what he is.

I don't want to marry him and I don't even have a high opinion of him as a person. He is mentally weak and has been coddled his entire life and has relied on his incredibly physical skills to make him the best player on the court his entire life. Counting on that to change is foolish....... but he is far from the only one, there are a number of NBA players that have personality flaws and weaknesses.

To be clear I am not saying I would be running to pick Simmons up from the airport, I am only saying that I do think he would help the Rockets and that he would have a good chance of being successful with a different role and situation...... I am not even saying Simmons is right for holding out.

 

I agree that the pass is way overplayed, but I also disagree with you downplaying his FT shooting woes. Why do you think this is something that can be "worked on?" The dude is going to be 26 this year -- he is what he is, and his abysmal FT shooting percentage makes him nearly unplayable in close games, the games where you need your max player the most.

 

nice post but i dont see walking off at halftime such a gross offence to culture...its a once time thing anyway he lost his temper and thats it...you cant control yourself 100% of the time

to me a greater offence and mortal blows to the culture is not working on ones game like nwaba not working on his 3 pointer or wood setting shitty screens or not passing the ball, or taking 3 pointers early in shotclock ie heroball.....they have far more reaching consequence than one time offences of the culture...the daily sins...repeated time and again...they are cancerous....

 

That's really not fair. Iverson certainly had his flaws, but he's pretty underrated due to not playing on stacked teams. Swap Kobe for AI and the Lakers win even more championships with their stacked rosters and Kobe isn't dragging Theo Ratliff to the finals.

Now sure, he was no Tim Duncan and he was absolutely a mindless chucker, but he was no scrub. He just spent his career carrying trash teams rather than riding coattails like Kobe.

 

i think he said Dunacn all time top 5 player.... id prob put him more around top 20-25....

AIs stats (from ESPN top 75 nba players all-time) - 11-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, 2000-01 MVP, two-time All-Star MVP, 1996-97 Rookie of the Year, four-time scoring champ, three-time steals champ. Unfortunately, AI wasnt a great team player - he was something of a ballhog... "practice, we're talking about practice..." doesnt seem like an argument that would be made by a player within a team that had a strong culture...lol

and yeh... id say yer exaggerating greatly.... lol

 

what is this nonsense haha

 

If you look at something like win shares, my 0 is closer to iversons 99 then his 99 is to duncans 206. Iverson is a little closer in vorp but not by that much, so it’s actually pretty closer

 

Stop it, i’m not remotely a kobe guy and think he’s way overrated but iverson isn’t close to him

 

Just stop man

 

I mean the numbers are the numbers ‍♂️

 

Of course you think that....because Kobe got to ride coattails on stacked teams while AI was struggling to drag scrubs to the playoffs year after year.

That was my entire point.