I figured I'd extend the options from the Herro vs Simmons thread to include 4 players who are rumored to be the centerpiece for a James Harden trade. If you had to pick one of these players to trade Harden for, who would you pick and why?
Simmons because he is a player who you can build around. The others would fit very well next to Simmons as ancillary players. Out of the four he is the only one who clearly has the ability to be an MVP in the league. He is the only one we will not regret in 10 years. I know the narratives. I don't care.
If I had to pick out of those 4 I would choose Simmons and then second would be Herro. Simmons is a superstar in every way except shooting the ball... and there is a chance he learns to do that. Herro just has an intangible that few players with talent have. I think there is a chance he becomes a big star in the league. I have no interest in trading Harden for Brown or anything on the Raptors. There is a reason the very best front offices are trying to get Harden.
Voted for herro but would like to change to spicy p. In order for me Spicy P Herro Simmons Brown Spicy P is not old is only going to be 27 has proven to be a legit option on a championship team and was balling after kawhi left. 2nd team all nba 25 point scorer while playing legit defense. NBA champion Long wing player at 6’9 Plenty of room to grow and has not peaked just started realizing his potential.
simmons has zero chance of becoming a reliable shooter brown's ceiling is byron scott. plus he’s a taker not a giver in terms of making teammates better pascal’s redundant with wood and already 27 herro’s the only one who gives us flexibility in free agency next summer, plus he can shoot & playmake under pressure
You have to consider all the players in the trade. Simmons is great but the Sixers doesn't have others great players to add.
My order of choice would be Simmons (not sure he'll ever learn to shoot, still, i think everything else is elite about him so, i'd be fine anyway, and if he does learn, well...), Brown (most complete on both sides), Herro (best shooter) and Siakam (similar to Brown but older and imo with no upside left). But while i would ultimately settle with whoever we get, the only one i really don't want is Siakam, and not because i think he's bad, but all things considered and especially because of his age, i really hope it's not him.
I'd take Siakam + OG if we're trading with Toronto. They'd both fit into our current team seamlessly.
Simmons, but he is still pales in comparison to the impact Harden has on the floor. I really only see 2 options at this point: keep Harden, or trade him for a godfather offer that includes Simmons, and I much prefer the former. Everyone says Philly has all the leverage because they can *trump* any offer with Simmons. I disagree. We have Harden...for at least 2 more years. Harden is the significantly better player. Even if Philly offered us the big offer, ie Simmons, Thybulle, Maxey and all of their picks, I still prefer Harden. So in my mind, Philly isn’t bidding against other teams. They are bidding against our own inertia. We would rather have Harden. I’d rather see us play out the year. We either win, or we trade Harden in the summer for what will likely be a very good package from a desperate team. Because 2021 free agency looks like such down year, Harden will very likely be BY FAR the most desired player available.
Brown > Siakam > Simmons > Herro Simmons is a franchise cornerstone of a team whose ceiling will never be championship caliber. Brown and Siakam are top 30 two-way players who will be key cogs in a squad with championship potential. Brown and Siakam supplement a championship culture and system. Simmons would BE the system, but his system would have a lower peak than anything we ever had with Harden. Like Rahat Huq said on the Locked On Rockets podcast this week, there isn’t a single year over the course of their careers where Ben Simmons will ever be better than James Harden.
Pascal is only 26 people! Will be only 27 next year! Wood is 25 and will be 26 next year. Pascal has not peaked. The last two years have been the years where he was asked to step up the most by playing 30+ mins. And has delivered. Is only going into his 5th season. To say he’s peaked is ridiculous. Pair him with wood and we would have really long athletic players at 6’9 and 6’10 who can handle the rock and create their own offense. Now my very close second pick is herro.
Just as important as the center player of the trade is the rest of the package. For example, Boston has a lot more to offer than Philadelphia. Houston is never going to trade Harden for any of those four players alone.
The fact that it’s kind of hard to chose, or you can make valid pro/cons on each of them tells you they’re all kind of in that “maybe” level. And the key will be in picking the right one. Like the trade for AD... you knew Ingram was good, but how good? He just got so much better across the board. Where would you rank last years Ingram and this years Ingram If they were included in this list? Siakim - best all around package but not yet clear he can be the best at any one thing and is old and got exposed a bit in the playoffs... but has seemed to improve every offseason Simmons - could be an MVP but for the fatal flaw. And I do mean fatal. It’s such a liability. Brown - such under the radar qualities. Good at so many things. Basically Siakim esque but you kind of thing given age and system in Boston that maybe there’s another jump or two in him. Herro - the most fun. The most risky. But potentially the most upside. Really not even close right now. But the best case scenario for him truly could be some kind of Steph/Klay blend. Not as crafty and creating with the ball as Steph but not as “I basically never dribble” Klay. Like in between them but with that quick twitch, constantly moving fun to watch offense. you could add others, too. MPJ - Like Herro but his upside case is probably even higher. His upside to me is maybe Dirk but better off the dribble and perhaps better defensively. Look this is the supreme upside scenario but it’s possible. He hit 42% from three. When he put it together at the end of last season he did 4 insane games in a row. closest to there already - Simmons (but he’ll never get “there” imo) biggest risk - Herro most boring - Siakim?? a little bit of everything - Brown honestly what I’m really hoping is Stone is a much better GM than us keyboard warriors and comes up with something amazing whether with one of these players or a rabbit out of his hat. But truthfully what I fear is that what we get back will be the worst choice / package somehow. Even if it looks “ok” it just won’t work clearly in the first few months. Like the player isn’t as good as advertised. Or the flaw is more obvious the more you watch. Etc.
