KOC: "I've been told Morey would offer Ben Simmons plus more"

Sounds like a self proclaimed King and self proclaimed "that one right there made me the greatest player of all time." Or does it only work when you recruit superstars to join you?

 

In Morey we trust

 

A guard that makes Westbrook shooting look like steph curry? Nah I’m good.

 

I hadn't even thought about that. I like LaVine a lot, would rather have him than Brown to build around if the best we can do is Nets garbage package or Morey trying to keep Simmons and Embiid. Would Bulls be able to put a big enough package? Would Harden want to go carry the Bulls?

 

#4 and Lavine, Fillers for Harden, and Tucker. That be really good, but i doubt it happens.

 

LaVine is a chucker, plays poor defense and has a shitty attitude, do not want, Brown >>>>>>>>>>>> LaVine

 

I agree, the question I would have if we acquired Simmons would be can Stone build a team full of shooters AND solid defenders around Simmons much better than Morey ever did with Harden? It seems Morey would overvalue shooting and undervalue defense at times and then next season undervalue shooting and overvalue defense at times. Just couldn't get the combination just right unfortunately.

At our most successful, we had shooting and versatile defense around Harden and CP3. The problem is if you get guys like Ryan Anderson they can't do anything else right so there is a fine line between finding "shooters" and finding role player that can also shoot, pass, rebound, and most importantly play above average defense. That was Morey's white whale. He found it in Tucker, Ariza, Luc, Bev, Gordon, RoCo, etc. but none of them are consistent enough 3 point shooters (save for Tucker) to help take us to the promised land.

Simmons does seem like the best we can get for Harden as I would think he would blossom even more here as long as Stone surrounds him with role players that Morey could not. Would also need another star player at some point to pair with him but I can definitely see young free agents wanting to play with a 25-26 year old Ben Simmons assuming the Stone/Silas combination does their job properly and puts him in the best place to succeed.

People need to understand that Simmons is a different kind of star than Harden and Westbrook. The way he can affect the game on offense AND defense is what makes him a different type of star. His willingness to distribute and play defense is typically what great teams need from their star players. Think more in the mold of prime Paul George, Jimmy Butler who both took awhile to become SuperStars but their defense was always one of their best assets as they learned to evolve their offensive game. That is way different starpower from Harden and Westbrook who aren't exactly known for their defense.

For his playmaking ability, defense and high efficiency shots (gets to the rim, 60%+ TS percentage), solid assist/TO ratio (good decision making), I would be targeting Simmons + Richardson + Thybulle and 3 1sts + 3 1st swaps for Harden. That is the only trade that makes sense when giving up a talent like Harden. Of course players like J. Brown, Siakam, Bam, could entice Houston but Simmons is by far the best young talent you can realistically get. Below is what he did without Embiid this season. That is with a mishmash of talent on the 76ers. They have a lot of talent but it just doesn't fit well with Simmons game especially since he is more of a 4 than true PG. The 76er's have like 3-4 PF's starting on that team.

Ben Simmons has averaged 20.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 16 games without Joel Embiid in 2019-20.

He also shot 62% during that stretch. This is all while playing elite defense which can not be ignored by so many. I was hesitant at first regarding Simmons but I am starting to see the light and think it is the best since he is already a top 20 player. Was selected to All NBA third-team this season and still has plenty of room to add to his potential as a 1A or 1B option on a team. Assuming Silas and his staff can work with Simmons like Carlisle and his staff have worked with Luka, I see no reason why Simmons would not be considered a top 10 player after his 1st season in Houston with the expectation of pushing for top 5 talent in the league in 3-4 years.

 

Any package out of Chicago should start with Markinnen. If not, I’d need Lavine AND Carter with the #4 as a starting point

 

Yes, this.

Morey: team practically hard capped and has no money to fill the roster & improve from last year....said bye-bye

D’Antoni: insulted by the salary Tillman offered..........said bye-bye.

Morey joins the Sixers......team destination of Harden
D’Antoni joins the Nets.....team destination of Harden

Same s*** different cow.

 

Aside for giving Stone the benefit of the doubt, i think it's generally much easier to build from the ground, Morey never had that chance, when he got Harden he was pretty much forced to build quickly and without assets around him, that was never going to be easy, Stone will at least have that chance if we start a rebuild around Simmons and some picks/young players.

 

Neither Phili nor Brooklyn have the draft capital necessary to pull off a trade. (meaning Top 10 picks)

I have said this in a few threads, so the Rockets do not appear to be the villains, they need to come out with a statement saying they are happy to work with James however Phili and Brooklyn need to acquire more assets or bring in a third team in order to make this happen.

I agree with several of the posters, 4, 5, 6 mid to late first rounders is garbage for a player of that caliber.

 

The truly sad thing about this is that the Sixers aren't trying to get Westbrook from us instead of Harden.

Simmons is the perfect 2nd star to pair with Harden. Great defender, rebounder, playmaker, and doesn't seem to care if someone else is doing all the shooting.

 

True. And Brown isn't even enough to get happy about.

 

Out of nowhere it’s Russ and all the picks we accrue for Ben Simmons. What a ride that would be

 

morey trade for westbrick

 

I know, I know. But maybe Embiid says, "Russ is my brother, we're tight. Get it done to keep me happy." Hey, it worked once.

 

hahaha i must say westbrick's little pettiness on the court with guys like Bev and Embiid etc is pretty entertaining.

 

Now THIS is THE Stone meme to end all memes.

Excellent work!!!!

 

Simmons better than both, not even close.

For those who say otherwise, need to watch more basketball.

 

I want Simmons even more now that you don't like him.

You're one of the guys on CF who have been clamoring to get rid of Harden for YEARS.