the idea of the rockets trading harden for simmons was dumb in the first place and likely would've resulted in us losing our draft pick last yr to okc while having to pay a max salary to a problem player for years without being able to truly rebuild. to suggest trading for ben simmons NOW after all the **** that he has pulled?? only someone with severe brain damage could think that's even remotely a good idea.
at this point of human evolution along with the wonderful power of the internet people will argue and be the contrarian on practically any subject or issue.
I don’t want to do anything to help the Nets. They dug their own hole and grave, let them lay in it. They wanted to group and appease two of the most fickle superstars in the league in Irving and Durant (who was coming off a major injury) and then decided to add Harden (who I love but it’s a extremely fickle in his own right). They wanted to buy a super team / championship, and this is the cost of it. No way I would want to help them and take now the most fickle star in the NBA this past season in Ben Simmons. The Nets would have to have to somehow give us their draft for the next decade-plus before I’d even consider helping them. I like KOC and value a lot of his work but even suggesting that idea seems very out of touch/crazy.
The mental issues have kept him from being a top 5 player in the league, but he was still pretty damn good until recently. The problem now is that he hasn't played in an entire year, and I have concerns that his confidence and desire to play may be gone. Everyone is over looking the back issue, but for someone with his lack of work ethic, and low pain threshold and lack of mental stamina, its a big issue. Also, this isn't the first time he has had back issues, he has missed time in the past. If he plays like he played before I am not concerned with him making the max because he would make a larger impact than anyone we would add in free agency. FWIW he would also be an excellent fit with Banchero or Holmgren over the next 5 years. Why? Because of upside. Because it wasn't that long ago that he was very good. The days of hoping he will be a top 5 player or even a franchise player are over. However, he can still be successful if surrounded by the right players. I still think he is the best bet for a team like the Jazz or Lakers.... teams that have few avenues to improve but aren't going to completely blow it up.
In two years Jalen Green and whoever we draft this year (assuming we draft well) might actually be a draw for free agents. Having $37M/yr tied up in Simmons until Green is up for an extension would limit our options considerably. Simmons would need to turn his career around completely or be dead weight that locks up our cap. I'm not keen on trading for a highly paid player that has both on and off court issues. Nor do I see his potential retirement as a possible benefit. Yeah, that frees up our cap, but that means we wasted any possible benefit of trading Wood/Gordon. We could just let Wood and Gordon expire and/or trade them for any draft capital possible. We know EGo was getting offers of super late 1st round picks in this year's draft.
As others have said, you don't do anything to help the Nets. Nothing at all. I don't want Simmons around this team. We're young and talented but Silas is having enough trouble establishing culture and identity as it is. Adding Simmons would be too much volatility and too much risk.
He was never max money good because all of his weaknesses were exposed in the playoffs, now that we know he has no heart and no real desire to get better, how can you still say he has upside? I predict he will never be a all star or a player that a team thinks they can build around, nobody is going to risk assets and a max slot for this guy. I could never trust this guy in crunch time he is just too mentally weak.
His upside is to be the player he was 13 months ago. It isn't a franchise player but it is still a really good player if used properly. His money isn't the real issue. Teams can make it work and would gladly pay him his salary if he played like he did most of his career in Philadelphia. I agree, I don't think teams are going to give up a lot of assets for him, I wouldn't. He is mentally weak, but he is still a pretty good player when healthy. He is very flawed but some somethings very well.
The player he was 13 months ago was mostly a playoff no sho and could not be trusted . That's not a really good player, it's a front-runner. How in a salary cap league a max slot is not a real issue? Doc bent over backward to use him properly and how did that work out, no teams will not be glad to pay him his salary seeing how teams had little interest in trading for him last year, and he has ruined his reputation even more. Why would anyone believe he can be the REGULAR SEASON player he was in Philly, even with the mental breakdown and the back issues? You already know he is going to feel some kind of way when he is not offered max money on his next contract.
Just my opinion but him refusing to shoot the three without being a post threat is a significant flaw as a team he is on advances further and further in the playoffs. A great coach will expose him (and have) over and over again in 7 games. I can see him pairing well with Curry and Klay... maybe others... but, having Simmons on your team taking up a large part of the cap is basically committing to playing around his weaknesses. His strengths aren't good enough for a team to build a whole team around his weakness.
I agree with this. If you get Simmons on your team you need to realize he isn't going to help you offensively in crunch time other than perhaps an offensive rebound or strong pass. He is at this point basically an awesome role player. He isn't anyone's ideal, but he still has some value as an NBA player.
i think you're misunderstanding what i meant. i do not want to trade for simmons, i want to trade our nets pick.
Wait, why the hell are we trying to make the Nets better when we have all their future picks? Instead of trading for Simmons, the Rockets should try to sign Kyrie once their cap space opens and ready to compete, that way Bkn loses their second best player for nothing and we dramatically improve those picks, not to mention we get an allstar in return. People can say what they want about kyrie but destroying the nets team and boosting those picks values for years to come is worth it alone.
Moving on from Simmons. Trade for 6'9 225 Jalen Johnson instead. Uber athletic point forward that can switch 1-5 and actually has a 3ball. Enough with the 6-4 forwards. Or forwards that are not 2 way players. https://lakersdaily.com/hawks-g-league-coach-on-jalen-johnsons-ceiling-i-see-a-mini-lebron-in-him/
Should be reasonable since Hawks are in win now mode and are playing AND paying vets more. JJohnson being treated like Garuba, maybe even worse even with John Collins, Capela, Bogdan and Gallinari either hurt or ineffective. Hawks need another legit scoring threat and postseason vet in worst way. Someone like EGo perhaps?
