Hate to say this because I like Wood, but Wood, Gordon and some draft picks would work. Then we just trade Wall to the Clippers
Forgive my ignorance but what would prevent a team from running a zone against the Rockets, who now has one player on the court who can't shoot? The opposing team would just leave Simmons out around the 3 point line and build a wall from 18ft inward, daring him to either finally grow some testicles and shoot 3s or test his mettle on whether or not he can get to the basket. As far as his ranking is concerned, I'll say this--this franchise is in rebuild mode. I've seen craptacular teams during my time as a Rockets fan and I don't have an issue seeing this team suck for the next couple of years if it means our four first round picks gets the playing time and experience to learn and develop. Putting Ben Simmons on this team (I guess by trading John Wall away) does nothing to move the needle to put this team back into contender status. The Sixers gave him the keys to the franchise by not only letting him be their point guard but also never bothered to ask him to do more on the offensive end and look at where they're at right now. And we are wanting to insert him into a young (and probably impressionable) lineup in Houston and hope that he has more of an impact here than in Philly? I'm having a hard time doing mental gymnastics to see how a Ben Simmons in a Rockets uniform is going to propel this franchise back to its previous winning ways. Don't get me wrong; I'd rather have Simmons than Wall if it was a straight up deal.
Other teams have tried this tactic, most notably the Bucks. It doesnt always work because Simmons is so good at attacking seams in zones and kicking out to shooters. And he is also very good setting screens and rolling hard to rim.
Russ was the freaking PG, it was his JOB to lead transition. Harden is the best at 3PT assists regardless of numbers. Simmons does it because he is not the finisher that Harden is and avoids FTs and contact. If you look at the combined stats of opportunities I guarantee you Harden was far more effective and its not even close. It's not closed minded thinking when I already mentioned transition for Simmons and all of the positives you mentioned but you continuously ignore that other people are doing those things as PRIMARY. These are not the main parts of an offense. Simmons also can't shoot FTs. I have mentioned all of the things Simmons can do multiple times but you fail to recognize that roles LIMIT what you will do. As a replacement starter with depleted offensive options Jeff Green can fill it up at times. Simmons is a MAX player. He needs to be on every night and you are REMOVING him from the ACTIVE part of the offense where he plays PG and moving him to a PASSIVE role. He is not going to be a Point Forward here with the PG already in place. His deficiencies on offense become more glaring because his contact with the ball becomes more about shooting and not dominating and distributing. Teams will foul him every time to miss FTs, won't buy his pump fakes, and the D collapses in. We have already seen it in Philly when he is off the ball. Ben is smart, he is not stupid. He hides for a reason and is efficient for a reason. It got him a max contract by not getting exposed. Why do you think he wanted to go to GSW, Wiggins was able to hide there for a year and Wiggins can shoot. I have watched BBall for over 40 years. This is coming from someone that really liked Simmons coming out of LSU. I have watched him a lot and Embiid. If he could shoot he would be an ALL NBA PG. He is not Durant and is not going to be able to make that transition without a jumper. Durant is the best player alongside Harden because he has ALL of the skills. That's what makes him so lethal. Shooting is not just 10% of the game, its the biggest portion because it enhances all of the others. People are scared to death of Harden because they have to honor his 3pt shot even though he's not the fastest guy. Because he had that shot he could develop the footwork and body motion and hand skills to make his lack of speed irrelevant and was able to turn contact into his weapon. Simmons can't do any of that and is relying strictly off of athleticism. You also continuously ignore the fact that if Simmons made $10M no one would be looking at trading him. This is a MAX player and you act like the money and what it does to team opportunities mean nothing. Let's just have Simmons be like Garuba our backup PF. You didn't address that at all or even acknowledge it. The PLAYER and CONTRACT ALWAYS go together. I would like to have John Wall on this team at $8M but not at $50M. It's never the money doesn't matter and its all good and lets just talk BBall. Philly was quite happy to have rookie scale Simmons and MAX Butler. They drove Butler off because he couldn't work with Simmons. They were invested in Simmons and the rest is history.
Rockets have had 2 distributors on the floor at the same time for YEARS now, why is this so difficult for you to envision as a Rockets fan? And trading Simmons for Wall is a plus in regards to salary impact, you do realize this right? And no one, absolutely NOBODY, is mistaking Simmons for Durant, Lebron or even CP3. But you do realize that Simmons is a 3 time All Star playing point forward spot right? And you are just flat out wrong, Simmons (not Harden) has led NBA in 3P assists since entering league in 2017.
In your scenario would Christian Wood be a big and, if so, where does he fit in to a small-ball-5-with-Simmons-at-center lineup? If Simmons "IS the big and shouldn't be paired with one in most instances" then are you suggesting Silas replaced Wood in the starting lineup with a wing? Or is Wood an exception to the big rule and we're expecting him to play more at and around the 3 point area even though he shot 81% at the rim?
KPJ and Green are the main distributors so Simmons would do what? Let's pay $35M for a 3rd PG and I am ignoring the 6th man? Simmons for Wall is not a plus because it doesn't improve our opportunities. With Simmons we have no more flexibility and then don't have space for two max contracts after next season. We have to carry Simmons who likely depreciates as an asset once his deficiencies are not hidden as a PG. The Durant reference was a correlation to both of them transitioning from PG to wing. Durant could do it because he had a jumper, Simmons doesn't. You didn't read anything about why I said that Simmons would want to be point forward but wouldn't be here. Simmons was PG, he didn't have to even play the LBJ role. You didn't read anything about what I said about 3PT assists and the trade off between finishing the drive did you? I know what the stat is but that's deceptive. If I couldn't shoot FTs I would pass the ball to 3PT shots more too. Simmons is not stupid. You have made no recognition to the limitation of roles, no recognition of contract, and continually bring up things that have already been addressed. Do you believe we are just telling KPJ to sit on the bench if Simmons came here? Honestly, by your reasoning that makes the most sense. Simmons IS A PG that just can't shoot. Simply moving him doesn't fix anything. If we didn't have to talk about this I would probably be one of his biggest fans. If he could shoot ALL of us would be clamoring to trade for him. It feels like you heartfelt believe that his inability to shoot is something that is going to be corrected and can be minimized and this will all get better. I can respect that but I just have zero faith in it at this point. I like you knew he was bad at LSU but like most players felt he might change shooting hands and really perfect his shot over the rookie contract and get a lot better. When it didn't happen...
Well this actually began because I was talking about how I thought he'd fit with the Timberwolves. So Christian Wood doesn't enter the picture. But I do think Christian Wood could play the 4/5 interchangeably with Ben Simmons because he's fast enough to guard multiple positions and can spread the floor.
Simmons seems like he could actually be a really good piece for a team that already has a talented young backcourt, and can put him up front, surrounded by decent shooters... In other words, he could be amazing here if they'd take Wall.
Imagine paying 50 or 60 millions to a player that cant shoot behind 10 ft...cant hit FT cant play center....lolololo and that is what he will ask when contract extension is due in 2 years
Yeah, it does suck. He is such an intriguing player, with his ability to be a lock down defender with a high IQ to control the game. If he could just learn how to shoot a ****ing free throw and a corner 3, he wouldn't be such a damn liability come playoff time. He is fine for the regular season, but playoffs is a whole different beast if you are trying to win.
