There are TWO things Houston fans can be thankful for: 1. Doc Rivers not entertaining the idea of coming to Houston to be the head coach 2. Stone not trading Harden for Ben Simm_ns and whatever was in that package Dodge two franchise altering bullets in one season.
76ers Believed To Have Decided Against Trading For Kyle Lowry To Hold Out For Bigger Star The Philadelphia 76ers pursued a trade for Kyle Lowry at the deadline, but were unable to get a deal done with the Toronto Raptors. After the 76ers were eliminated in the second round in seven games, it is difficult to conceive of Lowry not giving the team the edge they needed to advance. "There is a consensus around the league that [Daryl] Morey resisted because he’s angling for an even greater star," writes Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer over Philadelphia's decision not to trade for Lowry. O'Connor mentions Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal as stars the 76ers are interested in trying to trade for, along with lesser stars such as CJ McCollum and Zach LaVine. Any major trade the 76ers assemble almost certainly would be built around Ben Simmons, who likely had his trade value drop during the playoffs. "Trading [Joel] Embiid... is a nonstarter," writes O'Connor.
Morey now has to use 1st round picks to get rid of Ben. Rockets can give him John Wall for picks and Ben
I'd be pissed if I were a Philly fan. Harden was out there for them. Okay he's hurt but lets ignore that, irrelevant, no one expected him to get hurt and maybe Doc rests him more than a Nash/MDA team, Doc seemed to rest his stars a bit more any way... Lowry was out there and could be had for much cheaper... But nope. Morey always trying to angle for that bigger move...and it bit him this time. I can kind of get Lowry, he's going to be a FA and all and we know Lowry loves his hometown and might play there for cheap and Morey probably figured Nets big three weren't going to lose to Embiid/Lowry/Simmons led team... But now that the Nets are out of it, the path to a championship was the low-IQ Bucks...that stings. Now they need Dame or Beal, NEED.
Morey did this with Houston. Had so many opportunities to get a helpful player but waited for the bigger name that never came. As @DD would say, hes's a star****** I also don't understand how the Bucks are a low iq team, I keep seeing this narrative. They stick to what their strengths are without having good shooters. They destroyed Miami and beat the Nets. A low iq team is a team that misses 27 3 pointers in a row and doesn't advance.
https://hoopshype.com/2021/06/21/76ers-trade-ben-simmons-nba/ “I’d give him one more year and work hard on his free throw shooting and offensive game over the summer,” one NBA executive told HopsHype. “A pull-up mid-range jumper. His three-point shooting is a few years away if he ever gets it. You can’t rush things with him, he’s a mental midget right now with his shooting confidence. Not politically correct, but I couldn’t come up with anything else.” “He’s not the perfect fit with Embiid,” the second NBA executive told HoopsHype. “Other players could complement Embiid better. Simmons is difficult to build a team around and is not good enough to be the central figure. I think the lack of free-throw shooting does hurt his value. I’d explore a trade. Guys like Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal are two levels better than Simmons.” “Ben’s lack of ability in the playoffs is a concern,” the third NBA executive told HoopsHype. “He’s good enough to get you to the playoffs and have a solid regular season, but the playoffs can be challenging for him as the game slows down and people’s weaknesses are exposed, which hurts the team. I’d explore a trade to see if I could get a couple of win-now players that fit the way they need to play with Embiid. A point guard or a wing that both can create shots for others and themselves.” “I’m not sure I’d trade him, but I’d make him a power forward and get a point guard,” the fourth NBA executive told HoopsHype. “Ben has totally disappeared. He needs to be more aggressive, especially in the playoffs. He’s content getting assists, rebounds, and defending, but to win in the playoffs they need more from him. He should be putting pressure on the opposing defense.”
Ben has 4 more years left. Wall just two, why would we do this. Philly is still a good team, so how much would their picks be worth. If we're buying picks, these are very expensive picks.
Not to defend Morey but I really think Stone was never going to trade Harden to Philly. IIRC Stone didn't even allow for Philly to counter their first proposal of Simmons, Thybulle and picks and just did a deal with Brooklyn. I think if Stone had wanted to he could have told Morey "I want Simmons, Thybulle, Maxey, and picks" Daryl would have caved. What Stone actually did was call up Brooklyn and said "I'm about ot get Simmons, Thybulle and picks. What is YOUR best and final offer?" and the rest is history. Essentially I think Stone and Tilman trolled Morey from the get go.
LOL Ben “mental midget can’t shoot” Simmons, Tyler “Bubble Guppy” Herro, Aaron “Don’t trade me to Houston, I won’t re-sign” Gordon…
I still think Simmons can be a good asset to a contending team in the right system. He needs good shooters around him, and he can do a lot of the dirty work. But Philadelphia is not the right place for him.
I always enjoy centers doing their thang' and I like Embiid. But as much as he eurosteps or can take someone off the dribble, it never looks natural. It looks off. He doesn't know how to post up for leverage. Hakeem should reopen his center for centers who want to play center. Embiid would be one of the few, that could benefit I remember they were going to train years ago but Embiid got hurt.
Name them. Lmao it took a injured Kyrie and Harden for them to lose in 7 by single digits. The **** outta here.
