I think Simmons is an interesting player since he has major strengths and glaring weaknesses, and you always have to wonder how much you can amplify and mitigate those by putting a guy alongside Stephen Curry.
Problem is, any plausible way of getting Simmons on the Warriors involves giving up a guy who's already an established fit for a big unknown. So yeah, that's a no.
Best case scenario I can think of is if you view Simmons as a center and think that maybe you can get a bargain-bin Wiggins understudy who's less of a downgrade than Simmons is an upgrade at the center position. Steph+Klay+Dray+Simmons+JTA for example seems like it would be a pretty respectable lineup. Alternatively, seeing him as a younger alternative to Draymond makes sense, but you have to be assuming a pretty harsh decline from Draymond to take a gamble on Simmons.
The biggest reason I'm wary of taking Simmons is that his weaknesses (like FT%) are pretty individual, which means they're not that easy to fix by moving him to a new team. Contrast with Wiggins' perceived weaknesses before coming to the Warriors (efficiency, defense), which were pretty rapidly improved just by changing the situation, demands, and philosophy of the team he plays for.
LOL news of the morning: that weird "James Harden joining the Olympics team" (when he could barely play on that hamstring injury???) story has resolved itself: " while Brooklyn Nets star James Harden had to withdraw because of a hamstring injury". You don't say???
No no no ... not interested. He is not going to make us any better.
I know we are all worried about Curry's prime and all that but ask yourself, where do you see Steph's trajectory. I hope he will age gracefully and towards the twighlight of his career be a spot up shooter - just like Jesus Shuttlesworth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr6XsZVb-ZE).
My vision would be for us to build a team that straddles several HOF a'la The Admiral and the Big Fundamental in San Antonio. The Spurs lucked into that period when David was injured and lo and behold, they drafted Timmy. That enabled them to win 5 championships from 99-14; and I always remember how I feared the Spurs those 2 decades, cause they were always dangerous - and in any given year could win it all.
Whilst, we may not get a HOF in the draft like Timmy, I would love for us to build a young core that will staddle the Curry-Klay-Dray (aged 33/31/31) era and the next era - could it be Wiggins-Wiseman-Draft Pick (26/20/?)?
- Maybe Wiggins straddles both eras?
- Is Wiseman an HOF (probably not right now, but would be good if he can get All-Star; he is very raw; or maybe a Tyson Chandler career)
Should we trade our pick for Simmons (aged 24), I'm not so sure. I would much prefer to pick someone who can pick up a scorer. Someone that could be our future started when Klay and Steph come off the bench in their twilight years ... that would be my dream.
Should we trade up for Suggey or J.Green? Or stay put and get Moses and Barnes?
Whatever it is, I do not see Simmons in the picture.
Got to admit though, Trae Young has arrived. That's one that bad MF. Most guys in this league are good but only some are built to win. He might be one of those.
The Bucks are so dumb. Just a collection of things I noticed:
- Decided to come in with the game-plan of giving unlimited number of floaters to one of the best floater shooters in the league. When they went to a smaller lineup and started switching, Young resorted to bricking 30-35 footers, and the only points he got were at the FT line. He might make those obviously (he is incredible), but those are infinitely better than open floater after floater.
- 55 seconds left, they decide to take a pull up long 2 from Middleton with 43 seconds left on the clock. Though the shot-selection could be better (you were getting whatever you wanted at the rim with Giannis as a roll-man), if you were going to take a pull up 2, why not wait until the end so that they don't get a 2 for 1 opportunity?
- Down 3 with 1 possession left, they passed it to Giannis with 5 seconds left. Needless to say, he was immediately hacked as they were in the bonus.
The Bucks have gotten here despite their idiotic decision-making. Heck, they might go on to win the title.
I know Trae's had an incredible playoff run but I can't help but wonder how lucky he has been to face teams that play the drop exclusively with the Knicks, Sixers, Bucks and potentially the Suns in the Finals.
Don't want to pile on, but beyond the stat sheet, there are intangibles to a player's game that matter. Everyone thought the Warriors long term deal for Poole was nuts because Poole's numbers as a rookie were atrocious. But behind the scenes, one can only assume that the FO saw more in him than we could see on the court. There were several basketball reasons behind the drafting of Wiseman, but don't think that his character and work ethic didn't play a major role in his selection - which, by the way, could impact the team for the next decade or more. We covet stars on other teams, looking for that magic pill, but fail to read the Warning Label: "Taking this player can lead to Flat Earth Theories, Broken Contracts, Clanked Free Throws, hAirballs, Flop Sweats, Lunch with Uncle Dennis, High Blood Pressure Fans and Choking." For those clamoring to trade Dray or Wiggs or Wiseman and a bunch of picks for some magic pill player, please read the warning labels. Steph, Klay, Dray & Loon are Champions, fearless and fierce competitors that don't shrink in the moment. Poole & Wiseman are high character guys with insatiable work ethics who want to be great. JTA & D Lee are guys who will give you everything they've got, anytime you ask. Wiggs is not going to miss a day of work. There is more to a Championship team than a bunch of resumes filled with fat stats and individual accomplishments. The intangibles matter and we just saw these, or the lack thereof, get played out on the biggest stage in the biggest moments. George & Simmons are top 20 players in this league, but I'd take Dray in a Game 7 without a second thought.
Plot twist: Simmons is tanking his trade value on purpose so the Sixers will sell low hence saving the Warriors assets. Once he gets here he will magically develop a jump shot and everyone will hate the Warriors again.
Although Simmons is probably the best star who can be reasonably gotten this offseason, the fit with the Warriors is too rough. In the modern NBA, having 2 complete non-threats in Draymond and Simmons is probably a death-knell for most offenses, even if Klay and Steph are 2 of the 3 other guys on the court.
As for Simmons for Draymond, no way. I think we have enough data on the both of them to know they're probably significantly negative value offensive players in the playoffs (this version of Draymond at least), but Draymond is so much better defensively that it's not even a contest. Simmons is a great perimeter defender while Draymond is a very good perimeter defender, great big man defender and the smartest defensive coordinator in the league (while also being one of the 3 most switchable bigs in the league). And he makes his FTs.
I wouldn't trade either Wiggins or Dray straight up for Simmons. What do we actually gain in either scenario?
If we trade Wiggins, then we end up with some redundancy with him and Dray... might work in short smallball stints -- but how much better is that than Dray at the 5 and JTA at the 4?
If we replace Dray, we get younger, longer, and slightly more interior scoring. Everything else is arguably, at best, equivalent to Dray with some huge question marks... can he (or will he) set good screens for Steph and Klay? Is he actually at the same level as Dray defensively? Simmons is objectively worse when it comes to shooting... the issues we had with Dray not being a threat outside? Yea, it'll be worse. Dray also shot 79% from the line this year... you don't need to take him out because of Hack-a-Dray.
And the improved interior scoring that Simmons would provide? He shot 63% within the restricted area... Dray shot... 63%. Granted, Simmons was able to create for himself more often but that's literally the only area that Simmons can score from. The only other area where Simmons takes a significant number of shots is in the 5-9 ft zone... at 40% EFG. For comparison, Dray was 41% EFG from 3P (not counting any shots from 30+ ft).
Then there's all the intangible stuff... Dray shows up big when it counts.
I think Simmons is an interesting player since he has major strengths and glaring weaknesses, and you always have to wonder how much you can amplify and mitigate those by putting a guy alongside Stephen Curry.
Problem is, any plausible way of getting Simmons on the Warriors involves giving up a guy who's already an established fit for a big unknown. So yeah, that's a no.
Best case scenario I can think of is if you view Simmons as a center and think that maybe you can get a bargain-bin Wiggins understudy who's less of a downgrade than Simmons is an upgrade at the center position. Steph+Klay+Dray+Simmons+JTA for example seems like it would be a pretty respectable lineup. Alternatively, seeing him as a younger alternative to Draymond makes sense, but you have to be assuming a pretty harsh decline from Draymond to take a gamble on Simmons.
The biggest reason I'm wary of taking Simmons is that his weaknesses (like FT%) are pretty individual, which means they're not that easy to fix by moving him to a new team. Contrast with Wiggins' perceived weaknesses before coming to the Warriors (efficiency, defense), which were pretty rapidly improved just by changing the situation, demands, and philosophy of the team he plays for.
LOL news of the morning: that weird "James Harden joining the Olympics team" (when he could barely play on that hamstring injury???) story has resolved itself: " while Brooklyn Nets star James Harden had to withdraw because of a hamstring injury". You don't say???
Linky: https://www.espn.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/31695035/returning-gold-medalist-kevin-durant-first-olympians-highlight-usa-basketball-roster
No no no ... not interested. He is not going to make us any better.
I know we are all worried about Curry's prime and all that but ask yourself, where do you see Steph's trajectory. I hope he will age gracefully and towards the twighlight of his career be a spot up shooter - just like Jesus Shuttlesworth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr6XsZVb-ZE).
My vision would be for us to build a team that straddles several HOF a'la The Admiral and the Big Fundamental in San Antonio. The Spurs lucked into that period when David was injured and lo and behold, they drafted Timmy. That enabled them to win 5 championships from 99-14; and I always remember how I feared the Spurs those 2 decades, cause they were always dangerous - and in any given year could win it all.
Whilst, we may not get a HOF in the draft like Timmy, I would love for us to build a young core that will staddle the Curry-Klay-Dray (aged 33/31/31) era and the next era - could it be Wiggins-Wiseman-Draft Pick (26/20/?)?
- Maybe Wiggins straddles both eras?
- Is Wiseman an HOF (probably not right now, but would be good if he can get All-Star; he is very raw; or maybe a Tyson Chandler career)
Should we trade our pick for Simmons (aged 24), I'm not so sure. I would much prefer to pick someone who can pick up a scorer. Someone that could be our future started when Klay and Steph come off the bench in their twilight years ... that would be my dream.
Should we trade up for Suggey or J.Green? Or stay put and get Moses and Barnes?
Whatever it is, I do not see Simmons in the picture.
My$0.02
Got to admit though, Trae Young has arrived. That's one that bad MF. Most guys in this league are good but only some are built to win. He might be one of those.
Man, screw it I'm rooting for the Suns to win the title
The Bucks are so dumb. Just a collection of things I noticed:
- Decided to come in with the game-plan of giving unlimited number of floaters to one of the best floater shooters in the league. When they went to a smaller lineup and started switching, Young resorted to bricking 30-35 footers, and the only points he got were at the FT line. He might make those obviously (he is incredible), but those are infinitely better than open floater after floater.
- 55 seconds left, they decide to take a pull up long 2 from Middleton with 43 seconds left on the clock. Though the shot-selection could be better (you were getting whatever you wanted at the rim with Giannis as a roll-man), if you were going to take a pull up 2, why not wait until the end so that they don't get a 2 for 1 opportunity?
- Down 3 with 1 possession left, they passed it to Giannis with 5 seconds left. Needless to say, he was immediately hacked as they were in the bonus.
The Bucks have gotten here despite their idiotic decision-making. Heck, they might go on to win the title.
I know Trae's had an incredible playoff run but I can't help but wonder how lucky he has been to face teams that play the drop exclusively with the Knicks, Sixers, Bucks and potentially the Suns in the Finals.
What would Steph do with that coverage lol?
Don't want to pile on, but beyond the stat sheet, there are intangibles to a player's game that matter. Everyone thought the Warriors long term deal for Poole was nuts because Poole's numbers as a rookie were atrocious. But behind the scenes, one can only assume that the FO saw more in him than we could see on the court. There were several basketball reasons behind the drafting of Wiseman, but don't think that his character and work ethic didn't play a major role in his selection - which, by the way, could impact the team for the next decade or more. We covet stars on other teams, looking for that magic pill, but fail to read the Warning Label: "Taking this player can lead to Flat Earth Theories, Broken Contracts, Clanked Free Throws, hAirballs, Flop Sweats, Lunch with Uncle Dennis, High Blood Pressure Fans and Choking." For those clamoring to trade Dray or Wiggs or Wiseman and a bunch of picks for some magic pill player, please read the warning labels. Steph, Klay, Dray & Loon are Champions, fearless and fierce competitors that don't shrink in the moment. Poole & Wiseman are high character guys with insatiable work ethics who want to be great. JTA & D Lee are guys who will give you everything they've got, anytime you ask. Wiggs is not going to miss a day of work. There is more to a Championship team than a bunch of resumes filled with fat stats and individual accomplishments. The intangibles matter and we just saw these, or the lack thereof, get played out on the biggest stage in the biggest moments. George & Simmons are top 20 players in this league, but I'd take Dray in a Game 7 without a second thought.
Plot twist: Simmons is tanking his trade value on purpose so the Sixers will sell low hence saving the Warriors assets. Once he gets here he will magically develop a jump shot and everyone will hate the Warriors again.
Although Simmons is probably the best star who can be reasonably gotten this offseason, the fit with the Warriors is too rough. In the modern NBA, having 2 complete non-threats in Draymond and Simmons is probably a death-knell for most offenses, even if Klay and Steph are 2 of the 3 other guys on the court.
As for Simmons for Draymond, no way. I think we have enough data on the both of them to know they're probably significantly negative value offensive players in the playoffs (this version of Draymond at least), but Draymond is so much better defensively that it's not even a contest. Simmons is a great perimeter defender while Draymond is a very good perimeter defender, great big man defender and the smartest defensive coordinator in the league (while also being one of the 3 most switchable bigs in the league). And he makes his FTs.
F*CK no to any trade involving Simmons to GSW - unless it's straight up for Paschall.
Is hoping Wiseman becomes close to Ayton in the near future too much to ask?
I wouldn't trade either Wiggins or Dray straight up for Simmons. What do we actually gain in either scenario?
If we trade Wiggins, then we end up with some redundancy with him and Dray... might work in short smallball stints -- but how much better is that than Dray at the 5 and JTA at the 4?
If we replace Dray, we get younger, longer, and slightly more interior scoring. Everything else is arguably, at best, equivalent to Dray with some huge question marks... can he (or will he) set good screens for Steph and Klay? Is he actually at the same level as Dray defensively? Simmons is objectively worse when it comes to shooting... the issues we had with Dray not being a threat outside? Yea, it'll be worse. Dray also shot 79% from the line this year... you don't need to take him out because of Hack-a-Dray.
And the improved interior scoring that Simmons would provide? He shot 63% within the restricted area... Dray shot... 63%. Granted, Simmons was able to create for himself more often but that's literally the only area that Simmons can score from. The only other area where Simmons takes a significant number of shots is in the 5-9 ft zone... at 40% EFG. For comparison, Dray was 41% EFG from 3P (not counting any shots from 30+ ft).
Then there's all the intangible stuff... Dray shows up big when it counts.
#7, #14 and Paschall to the Pistons for the #1 pick. Come on #MotorCity! Pashcall is the next Lebron! ;)
76ers fans have been doing a really good job indicating the reasons why Simmons is not a good target:
https://www.libertyballers.com/2021/6/23/22545307/sixers-always-had-numerous-problems-ben-simmons-has-always-been-one-philadelphia-76ers-nba
Our friend Evan Z. with his early prognostications
> Evan Zamir@thecity2
Give me Moody and Sengun. I think that’s the best outcome. Two guys that are young, have high ceilings, and could do stuff we need immediately.