I like it. But more realistic scenario is: to Cavs: Simmons, Augustin to Philly: Gordon, House, Sexton, to Houston: Love, Philly FRP
Well, if Morey could be forced to give up 2 FRPs and 2 swaps to trade CP3 for Westbrook, he could be forced to do anything if he's desperate enough to get Simmons off his hands.
Fertits forced that trade so you better hope 76ers owners want Ben out. The Tilfart forced trade was so bad Daryl quit on the team as soon as he could.
I am pretty sure the whole 76ers organization and the fan base are pressing down on Morey to get it done. The pressure is likely even more than Fertitta could put on Morey. The thing is, Morey knew the Westbrook trade wasn't a right move and so he could quit and people would blame it all on Tilman. This time, he knows the right move is to trade Simmons. And he knows he is at least partly responsible for this mess. He can't just quit and wash his hands. The point is, no price is too high or too low in the trading market. If you have no leverage, then you are screwed. Simmons has made himself so undesirable that no one is knocking on Morey's door to ask for the price. Morey has to knock on doors to sell. Only a few teams may have any interest in taking a flier on Simmons. And these teams don't have anything attractive to offer. And the alternative--not trading Simmons--is 10 times worse, and everybody knows it.
Like I explained in the post above yours, this time, it's not just an owner forcing his hand. It's the whole organization and the fan base that are forcing his hand. IMO, the pressure is even worse in Philly. I despise Tilman Fertitta. But he is not the all-powerful devil that is greater than all evils in the world.
There is misconception that this situation is somehow a new frontier in "player empowerment", or a referendum on the power of Klutch to move his clients with multiple years under contract. This is nothing of the sort. This is just old-fashioned beef between a team and player, which had been occurring forever. The "player empowerment" thing is when you have a situation like AD or Harden, where the organization has bent backwards to accommodate the player, yet the player decides "this pond is too small for me", or "I don't want to play with Player X and Y, I want to play with Player Z"... This Simmons thing is as old as the league, sh|tsorm of animosity and grievances. They tried to trade him, then they threw him under the bus after the loss to the Hawks. There are only two ways these situations get resolved. They patch-up and kiss-up (Hakeem and Charlie Thomas style) or he gets traded for almost nothing (i.e. what would have been the Rony Seikaly trade if things went down that way, but also the Boogie trade to NO and many, many others) This has nothing to do with "player empowerment", and the takes that I hear - "Morey has all the leverage", "Philly needs to show some cajones and stand firm" - are total BS. A basketball team cannot function with such drama and animosity between a key player and the organization. Just because a player is under contract doesn't mean that he is under obligation to take sh|t and be happy about it. Morey messed up the Harden trade, that's strike one. Doc ran his mouth, that's strike two. Joel ran his mouth, that's strike three. Now you have a legitimate beef that you created, not Klutch and not Ben, that's on you. Now, is Ben a primadona? Yes! Was the criticism deserved? absolutely! Would any other GM try to trade for Harden? No doubt! There is plenty of justification for Phily's actions that led to all of this. But end result is end result. You have a disgruntled player, and if you can't kiss-up and patch-up, you trade him for peanuts. You have no leverage and that's how it's been and that's how it is.
I would love for it to be Ben Simmons where a team says you know what, nah. And don't trade him for trash and continually fine him for the remainder of his contract or until he puts on the uniform and earns it or until a team offers something reasonable. The delusion this clown has thinking he has the same sway as someone like harden is hilarious to me.
Minnesota might actually be the best fit for Simmons. None of their other 3 best players can really playmake and they desperately need defense, so Ben could fit in pretty seamlessly.
no, man, they don’t have that option. Eventually he’ll show-up and go through the motions Toronto-Vince-Carter style, so that he can collect checks, and that’s gonna be it. The Vince precedent showed that the player career doesn’t suffer afterwards.
He's under contract. If he sits out for no reason other than trying to throw his weight around, can't the 76ers just sue him for breach of contract? I'm tired of hearing about these guys "exercising their right" to force their way out. No, these guys are obligated to show up and play based on the contract they each signed. I get that owners don't want to upset players and become an unattractive destination, but this is just not a good way to conduct business in my opinion. Why even have these contracts then?
They could but they won't. Players and agents would raise hell. Fans enjoy the intrigue so it will continue.
Yeah I think Philly HAS to deal Simmons and soon, but I don't think Morey will attach a 1st to him unless it's for someone really special which isn't going to happen. The rumor is the Cavs are still interested. They have all their FRPs. They want to unload Love but have been hesitant to do attach picks for just expirings. I do think they would attach a pick (maybe 2) for Simmons. He's young and they like him. Now would they attach 2 FRPs to swap Love for Simmons? Maybe. They will probably want restrictions on the pick(s) but a Love for Simmons trade is probably the best player they can get for Love so they have to give in if they want do the swap. I do think Morey would be greedy and want all the good assets which isn't going to happen. We have to get compensated taking Love which is someone they don't want/need. Bonus for us is that we free up playing time for the rookies. Time is running out for Morey and he's going to have to take the best deal available very soon.
I think Sexton is sufficient price to pay for unloading Love and taking on Simmons. Sexton is a good (not great) player, but Cavs are not sure about committing mucho dinero on him. It's a perfect situation for them, swap Simmons for Love, get out of the Sexton conundrum (to pay or not to pay him), and keep all their picks. Morey gets Gordon + Sexton: two players, each with trade value that is probably quite close to Simmons at the moment, to be frank. He'll have to pay a FRP for that. You put Gordon, Sexton and D.House around Embiid and that FRP will be in the late 20s, for sure.
