The difference between the two is we didn't have to give up a sht ton of assets for KPJ, all im saying is if Simons pulls that sht he is currently doing with the 76ers cause his feelings got hurt then we would be set back quite some way in the rebuilding process. What would the line up b with him in our team anyways. Idk what we even have to give up to net this dude
Not sure why you're asking me this question, I stated multiple times that I don't want Simmons. I just also pointed out why people might see him as a solution.
To make sure there are zero misunderstandings, there will never be a moment in time where I want to see that fragile diva donning a Rockets jersey. The strengths that Simmons would bring to the team are pretty obvious... Brings playmaking to our team, which we desperately lack. That's why we are trying to see if KPJ has the chops. Is an elite defender that will instantly help shore up one of our team's weakest areas. Jump starts the transition offense with fast breaks, usually started by his elite defense and up tempo pace. Unfortunately, Simmons is an incredibly flawed player, even more than the likes of Westbrook. For me at least, his deficiencies make him far less desirable than what he is able to bring to the table. Some these flaws are are... He needs a team that can properly space around him. Meanwhile, we are one of the worst shooting teams in the league, especially with Wood and Ego both heading out. KPJ, Green, Tate, KMJ, and Sengun are not causing any sort of panic from the perimeter. If anyone thought he had it bad with Embiid, things will be downright ugly with the Rockets. His inability to shoot is exponentially compounded by his UNWILLINGNESS to shoot. Sengun is a poor shooter, yet when he shoots defenders will still close out. That's because the last thing you want is to let a poor/mediocre shooter get hot. We saw this with Brewer, Smith, and Dort. When you have a player who is AFRAID to shoot (whether it be a 3pt shot or free throw), the D feels safe sagging off and packing the paint. These two HUGE flaws really hampers Simmons in a half court offense. Simmons doesn't seem very hard working or ambitious. The Simmons today is basically the same as the Simmons that came into the league as a rookie. He might do more of what he did and do some of it smarter, but he is still the same fundamentally flawed player who has done nothing to fix or mitigate his weaknesses. Elite players add something new or fix something broken in their game every season. We saw that in Harden, Giannis, LBJ, Curry, etc. Simmons, on the other hand, has not even an inkling of willingness to do so.
Hes shown he is not willing to improve on his flaws. So much that he’s sitting out this season to stick to his ideals. We are talking about being able to shoot the damn ball here. A skill he should know how to do at this point. Inexcusable for his offense to be where it is currently.
I would happily take Simmons for a package that DM would immediately hang up the phone for. I'm not trading multiple firsts plus other assets for him. But assuming there was a NOT crazy offer you could put out there to get Simmons, i'm down. Wood, EG, Wall, ONE top 10 protected first for Simmons and Harris. Harris' contract is abysmal. DM's quest to trade him with Simmons while also getting back existing top whatever players and multiple firsts is idiotic. I'd keep sitting Simmons all year, and he'd have to be 100% non-complaining about that given he's sat himself the first part, which allows you to keep your very high lotto pick. Lineup: - Simmons, Jaygup - Green, Mathews - KPJ, Harris - Smith Jr., Tate - Sengun ^ This isn't winning any chips, but is much much improved and you still have most of your draft picks. But your cap space is f'd going forward. You need all the young guys to get way better and to pull some rabbits out of your hat with your remaining picks, but if you wanted to go from f'ing horrible to competitive fast that's a way to do it. Simmons, KPJ, Smith Jr (pipedream!) and Sengun all defend which is the main thing.
Of course, Simmons has to agree to the trade first. That goes without saying. Wanting to be here is important.
There are red flags all over Ben Simmons and Daryl Morey wants too much in return for him. I'm for a low-risk, high-reward type deal, but that's not going to happen. He's a good player but not someone I would make the centerpiece of a franchise. What he did in the playoffs last year was unforgivable.
That's an extremely low bar you're setting. Who in the current NBA has done this? Dude is a mental midget who hasn't shown the propensity to improve, arguably, the most important part of the game. The fans in Houston are going to have high expectations for Simmons, just like the fans in Philly. What's going to happen when he has a bad game in Houston and gets called out for it in the media? He didn't take criticism well in Philly, so what makes you think a change in scenery will help? Simmons seems like the player who excels at playing on bad teams / rebuilding teams, since there's no pressure to be good immediately / no pressure to win a title that year. So I guess his mentality would fit our team for this year, considering we're so far away from playoff seeding. But for all the hate that Jalen Green gets for NOT performing up to his draft stock, you think Ben Simmons is just going to get love from Rockets fans regardless of performance? No one is saying Simmons isn't talented. Problem is, he can't seem to handle the spotlight and can't seem to take criticism well. Everyone who knows the NBA knows that Simmons just needs to work on offense, in order to be a top player. But he just can't do it, seemingly. All Klay had to do was run around, shoot 3s and play defense while Curry, Draymond and KD did most of everything else. All Kevin Love had to do was get open for a 3, get rebounds and play some defense while LeBron and Kyrie did everything else. All Simmons had to do was be a complement to Embiid, and he couldn't do that. What's going to happen when Simmons gets gameplanned for specifically...something that probably never really happened in Philly?
Ben Simmons' best passing season was his rookie season at 8.2 assists to 3.4 TO's. His playmaking is not special, it's top 30ish. In fact if anything, people are in total denial at the fact that these assists must go away for his future to be salvagable. In a secondary ball handler role - i.e. less than Draymond handles it - where his primary role is to set picks for whoever wants to attack he is not getting as many assists. He is to become a Gobert/Draymond clone and guard the opponent 4/5 to make his game work without shooting. Has to repeatedly set picks, I don't see him agreeing to that. His transition and fast break stuff is useless to us, we are already among the fastest teams in the league by pace. It doesn't take talent/skill to play fast and convert transition plays, any players with decent fundamentals can do it. Our guys will pick this up in a year. The only unique thing Simmons brings is the elite defense and that alone is not worth the max if you don't have two better players already. If you take that away, he is not getting even a NBA minimum contract just for his good passing skills.
Hasn't Simmons either walked out on, or been suspended from, every single PHI game this year??? You can say he quit on the team Or you can say he was sent away for insubordination What is the third option to explain a season-long absence of a healthy player under contract?!?!? Covid?
Sounds to me like you are trying to justify spending assets on a head case... Let's be honest... at best Simmons is a crapshoot... Even if his head were straight - he still can't shoot... he's under 60% career free throw shooter... lol! If someone wanted to make the argument that Wall is wasted salary and we might as well gamble on Simmons if it gets Wall off the books - fine, why not.... but trying to get Simmons (and his contract) for the sake of getting Simmons is just crazy... imo...
I don't know if I'd even do that. He can never share the floor with Sengun for example because of shooting, while Tate and Green are not good 3pt shooters. Would really destroy everyone's spacing. Think about how the Sixers are barely missing a beat with Simmons out. Some of it is Maxey and Embiid, but a lot of it is the new found spacing negating the loss of defense. If I felt like he was cooperative and open to developing a 3pt shot and in the meantime playing as a Clint Capela with passing skills, I would consider trading John Wall and Gordon/Wood for Simmons and expiring contracts. I don't know if it's worth taking on this complex insanely difficult project when we have access to good picks.
More important question is where Simmons stacks up vs the other polarizing CF player debates…. Melo Dmo Lin Chandsome can’t wait for this overrated player to find a new team so we can bury this nonsense. People wanted him for Harden and now we may have a gold mine in future BK picks pending their implosion.
One of my biggest problems with him is the recent reports, that once he is traded, he needs a few weeks to get in shape. Really? If true it means he is not even working on his craft. Ill pass on him as a Rocket.
Here is my case for him. I am not saying we should trade for him but this is the benefit I see With kpj and green, you don't really have a pg and Ben Simmons can easily be that guy. That would allow kpj to move to 3 and green be the 2. With those guys taking shots (along with whoever we draft) we don't need Ben to take many shots. With no body clogging the middle, I would think Ben would improve his offensive game anyway. I think Ben could also benefit from having someone like senguin who can find him when he cuts and thus further improve offensive production. Lastly he would give us a shut down defender that every team needs I would try to trade Gordon and wood for him and just sit him this year to improve draft chances, get someone like chet and roll with Ben, green,kpj, senguin and Chet The end
