Sixers offer Ben Simmons max contract(5 yrs/$168M); expected deal soon

I wanted to trade for him for Harden and I still would.

 

Said this 2 years ago

 

Nice take.

 

We should have saw this coming back in his LSU days. There's been only TWO players in the past 20 years drafted in the Top 3 who couldn't get their college team into the NCAA Tournament: Simmons and Fultz.

 

great call but it is still remarkable that it continued on for so many years after he joined the league.

Philly is to blame as well here. Many young players are babied and surrounded by family but once they join the league they are disciplined and coached to get playing time and opportunities.
Simmons had nothing to work for, he was given the keys from day one. And when he went against the coaching staff he had to face no repercussion.

 

If he isn't gonna learn to shoot, he needs to eat everything and work out and turn into Otis Thorpe with a handle.

 

If he had the drive and determination Simmons could have ended up as a two-time MVP winner and the leader of a team playing in the ECF.

 

I’m not surprised at all. There’s plenty of players that are just in the league and are content. He’s always been one of them. Win lose or draw at the end of the day Simmons is in the nba and making max. That’s his mentality.

 

Even if it wasnt self drive and determination he could still be disciplined. OFC the results wouldnt be as good but at least it wouldnt have reached this point either.
I dont blame Brown. I blame Philly as an organisation from the top because coaches can only have as much authority and power as given to them by managment. Brown didnt so Simmons was free to just ignore him.( Embiid in his first years did the same with the Sirley temples etc).

If Simmons was drafted by someone like Miami with the same personality as he has would he be allowed to do what he wanted as a young player?
If you want here lies the problem with the process. There is a organisational and systemical vacuum that allowed the patients to rule the asylum.

 

Saying he doesn't work is ignorant. He may not work on his jumper extensively but it's clearly lack of confidence and being a p**** more than anything.... You don't become all team defense without working... You don't become a 3x all star without working.... So it's very ignorant to say he doesn't work ... With that said, it's pathetic that in year 5 or 6 , he decides to address the shooting...

 

Agreed. Brown made an earnest attempt at getting Ben to improve his offensive game but coaches will never win that battle nowadays.

I think if Simmons were to go to Miami we'd see a totally different player. That culture, top down, wouldn't put up with this bs and would start by removing his family from all things basketball related.

 

The conclusion that he doesn't work most likely originate from the fact that, like you said, it's year in 5-6 and only now he sees that "Hmm...I might want to actually, y'know, score." Simmons has relied on his God-given talents all this time and that's why he's been an All-Star and All-Defensive team. It's whether or not he wants to BE more than that is the question.

 

The proposed trade for Simmons in exchange McCollum or to the Spurs are pretty fair and improves both teams. Though, it would be a super-knee jerk move.

Simmons improves both the Trailblazers and the Spurs. Neither team would need him as #1 or #2. Usually, the problem for some teams is having alot of guys who can score, but can't run an offense. Also, Ben is a fantastic defender for the most part, which is a plus for some of these teams.

Granted, he could improve his aggressiveness and shooting ability, it's still premature and a little silly to consider him a "lost cause." He has so many skills you can't teach or give, like pretty rare, especially at his size.

 

I can maybe see the spurs move, if they don't want playoff contend but put butts in the seat. Chip Engelland?

For Blazers, that's a big question mark. Yes Simmons will give them some on ball D, but the other cons are still there.

Simmons is not going to be the primary ball handler, it's still Dame. Is Simmons Ok with this?

With Simmons, it also kills their spacing. He'll do that to any team he goes, but in Portland, it's not going to help Dame's driving game. The franchise guy that your're trying to keep happy. They could maybe stick Simmons at the 4, maybe the 5, if Blazers go small ball, which they never did with the previous coach. Simmons at 4/5, probably means Nurk on bench

All the playoff strats against Ben are still there, which should be very concerning, if the whole point of this shake up, is for Blazers to go further in playoffs.

The main reason why Blazers may do this deal is they know CJ will give them more of the same, and they're desperate enough to try something different. This is sad and willful ignorance.

Brett Brown fired. Doc reinforced label as a choking coach, this trade could also ruin ... (Becky?).

If Blazers do this deal, it's good for the Rockets that Portland will remain in mediocrity.

 

Otis Thorpe was a .687 free throw shooter. He could also palm the basketball like a grapefruit.

 

Reclamation projects are attractive. In real life, women go for lowlifes and men try to turn garden tools into housewives. Very rare to turn either. Good luck to the team that trades for him.

 

...
....
......

You might be right about that, I can't disagree. But, the thing is with Ben, he's not an actual reclamation project, arguably. Also, if he is, he's only a partial reclamation. The only two (maybe three for the first two) things he's lacking is outside shooting/FTs and maybe more aggressiveness. Every other aspect of his game is at worst a B+. 3x All star and 2x all defensive, before 24. You also have to consider that the other star he plays with out with injuries, missing a portion of the season. He stays pretty healthy and outstanding playmaker, while there are many point guards in NBA history who weren't fantastic shooters and still helped their teams win.

Though, the FT% is a big strike, because being in 30s is abhorrent. It can give a team noticeable Achilles heel, and getting deeper into playoffs that becomes a bigger problem.

 

Simmons is in need of some major reprogramming. He lost his basketball soul. And he allegedly needs a major attitude shift. That's his mind, soul, and heart. Major remodeling. But yeah, I do agree that he has some major skills and is worth the effort to someone.

 

He's already just as big as many PF and C. Hell he's bigger/stronger than Wood or Capela.

The team that plays him at the 4/5 with shooters around him will get the most out of him. He should be playing just like Giannis. I think he measured out at 6'11 when the NBA forced everyone to give legit heights. It's not that uncommon for a 6'11 guy to not be able to shoot. Can we just give up this charade that he's a guard?