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

I mostly agree, but playing devils advocate...
1) Fox contract is horrendous and just starting
2) We have many win now pieces in Wall, EG, Wood and some very cheap productive options
3) If he does a wink wink with Wall to decline his player option and then be re-signed at the same price later, he can go after max-level FAs this offseason. This flexibilty has to be highly valuable
4) If we took on Harris, their 2023 cap situation is spectacular as well. We know this flexibility means a TON to Morey.

 

Adding simmons might hurt getting Banchero. Unless they think this team they have now is not getting a top 5 pick. Who knows. You could always get simmons and rest him for next year. Agreeing he's the #1, and there going to go tank for Banchero and roll with Him, Banchero, Green, Porter Lineup.

 

I would need to know what they mean by an offense built around him. If that means he is the playmaker surrounded by good spacing and shooters, then I am fine with that. If they mean he takes 20 shots a game, then he can go play somewhere else.

The criticism he received from his own coach was over the top and the organization didn't exact come to his defense. I am not saying Simmons handled it particularly well, but there is more to it.

It isn't just about failing to shoot from the outside, it is about a mentality. Both Gasol and Pippen lacked the ability to thrive or win without a better player next to them. Also Pippen would pass up open shots from the perimeter in the playoffs for the Bulls.

Pippen had a lot of playoff snafu's with the Bulls and definitely shrunk in the playoffs at different points from his "headaches" to some terrible shooting performances and to not going back into a playoff game at the end. Pippen is remembered as a winner in large part because he played with Jordan and on a great team.

Yeah, Pippen is actually a lot like Simmons in many respects. Gasol was someone that also mentally was inconsistent in the playoffs. Had either of them been asked to be a franchise guy, they wouldn't have won a lot.

Ben Simmons is very mentally weak.... he has never had to face adversity. There have been other mentally weak players that have done really well before - Pippen is a prime example, he was very mentally weak.... Gasol as well. If I sat and thought about it I likely could come up with a couple of others.

The key for Simmons is going to be the fit on a team and what the expectations are....... I don't think he is a franchise player, but I do think he can be the difference between a really good team and a great team.

 

100%! Let Simmons sit this year and next year would be so fun.

 

I guess we're ready to not just trade Wood and Gordon, but our picks and potentially Green too. I wonder if a Beal, Zion or Lillard could be had for a package of our top picks and Green and others? No way Morey deals with us for Simmons after teasing him with Harden to raise the price with the Nets. Could we be a potential team up destination for several stars perhaps?

 

Guys why would you consider building around a point guard on a max contract who can’t shoot and will be 26 next season? Makes very little sense. Enough with the Simmons talk; he’s not the answer.

 

Just curiuos.. What makes his contract horrendous?

 

I think most people who want simmons just hate being terrible, and would rather have the goal to be .500 and just be mediocre instead. Low risk low reward, instead of high risk gamble (draft)

 

He's too tall to be a Rocket.. Nothing to see here

 

Depends and Morey's ultimate goal. Does he truly want the best player he can land? We probably don't fit there. But, if he really wants to unload Harris with Simmons and create cap flexibility going forward, the Rockets are one of the few teams who could help. Simmons and Harris for Wood, Gordon, and Wall works, gives Morey a good young player in Wood, and cleans up the Sixer's book going forward.

Now, I'm not saying I would do it, but it's an interesting discussion.

 

Spurs are a full on culture team... didnt fly with Kawhi but they did garner a few rings along the way....
Ainge runs a tight culture in Boston...
Jerry West was all about a culture...
Look at all the top teams... how many do you think would allow a developmental project like KPJ to walk out at half time - and only deal with a 1 game suspension? Do you think the GSW would allow for that nonsense?

and 'what it gets you' is a solid foundation to build on where everyone knows the goals - and they're team oriented goals - not personal stats and such... How long do you think Pops would allow Wood to do his own thing - as opposed to working towards team goals?

 

The spurs are literally the exact franchise i want to avoid turning into. Is there a more hopeless organization in the entire nba then the spurs? They are the posterchild to encourage tanking

 

Man I loathe articles like this.

Bad team is looking for franchise player is equivalent to saying a man stranded in the Sahara is looking for water.

 

I don't really get why this is news (i mean, i do, bc we're bored); until the Rockets have a franchise player they'll always entertain offers for one. And even if they do have one it doesn't hurt to look for more

 

Here are a few franchise names rumored to potentially be available that fit our timeline:

Sabonis (25)
Collins (24)
Zion Williamson (21)
Sac back-court

 

yeh 5 championships in 15 years would really suck... lol
but hey its been 7 years since they won a championship... If 7 years of no championships after 5 in 15 is hopelessness... what kind of turnaround are you anticipating us having in the next 7 years? and following our gameplan over the same 22 years have garnered us zero championships - not even a finals appearance...
Maybe Pops should have been more accommodating and coddling of Kawhi... but hey 5 chips allows him some discretion imo...

 

Depends on how much you believe in the player. I don't think he has shown any signs of becoming a top 20 guy and his 5 year max just kicked in this year. Not efficient, still can't shoot, takes a lot of midrange and still making poor decisions in crunch time. He's a lesser version of Russ but a bit easier to play with. I don't think there are many buyers for him at his price, which means if you take his deal now, he is likely a cornerstone of your franchise for some time.

 

Simmons???

It mentions a "Franchise Centerpiece-worthy player".

 

San Antonio had Timothy Duncan, an arguably top 5 player all time, who the Spurs shamelessly tanked for, benching Robinson for months after he got healthy.

Ainge ran a tight culture in Boston. He's the prime example of why hoarding assets Gollum mode doesn't work. Should have gone all in on AD and it cost the Celtics a title and him his job. Brooklyn tanked against their will and gifted Boston two top 3 picks, yet Brooklyn is competing for titles while Boston has fluxuated between soap opera and mediocrity for the last few years.

If anything, Brooklyn would fit your ideal rebuild, no draft picks, no hope, but shrewd moves and major splashes in FA and topping it all off with the Harden trade. Yet we both know that a Brooklyn-esque rebuild is impossible in Houston, simply thanks to location and media markets. Same goes for the Lakers rebuild (Signing LeBron, not trading for AD).

While most teams run a tight ship, enough talent overcomes any amount of drama and dysfunction. Magic and Dr. Buss did cocaine off strippers' asses after every home game and won 5 titles in 10 years. The Lakers have always been a gong-show every year and are by far the most successful franchise in the history of sports.

 

The titles were built on tanking for duncan. I’m talking about the current spurs of the last 5 years, the decisions they have made since kawhi said he wanted out

instead of going for young assets to rebuild when kawhi wanted out they went for mediocre veterans to try to stay .500, the polar opposite pf what i would wanted them to do if i was a fan