From Darren Wolfson: Ben Simmons of Philadelphia remains squarely on the Wolves radar. The Wolves would love just like many months ago to find a way to acquire Ben Simmons. Easier said than done.
“I don’t like trade demands, and I wish they didn’t come,” Silver said. “I wish all those matters were handled behind closed doors. . . . I think we could do a better job as a league in avoiding those situations that get to the point where players are demanding to be traded or, in a worst-case scenario, saying they won’t honor their contract.”
https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2020/12/4/22151531/hardens-next-team-westbrook-the-wizard-and-pittsburghs-19-0-quest-with-joe-house-and-ryan-shazier 1:39:53
> You get villianized if pull a Eli Manning or John Elway on draft day or demand a trade, but if you do that in NBA everyone will say "you do you or he only has so many years to make money". What Anthony Davis did to New Orleans was genuinely lousy. He signed 5-year extension, halfway thru, "yea can you trade me now, and only to the Lakers". The internet was like "he is only using his leverage!". That never sat right with me.
Bill lowkey shitting on /r/nba, saying what AD did was disgusting but somehow we are too woke to criticize him. Thoughts?
This is getting seriously frustrating. Simmons has a big flaw in his game which will probably prevent him from being a top player on a championship team but I'm really tired of reading untrue statements.
- Simmons sucks on offense
Last year without Embiid the sixers starting lineup had an offensive rating of 113.3. For comparison the Dallas mavericks set the NBA record with an offensive rating of 115. https://i.gyazo.com/2b4ffecadf49a69ef8be7e8ebba24684.png (source: cleaning the glass)
- The Sixers half court offense is brutal because of Simmons
This is the most annoying because, there actually is truth to the fact that at the end of games when there's tons of timeouts and defenses get set Ben can be a liability and also he has to be the primary creator and he can't score off the dribble. No question. However the sixers aren't losing to the Cavs by 30+ points because Ben's half court offense is bad. In fact again, without Embiid the sixers starting lineup last year was in the 80th percentile on half court points per play.
https://i.gyazo.com/30691a096c6d3781d70778fefd594fc3.png (source: cleaning the glass)
- Simmons has made no improvements on offense since he was a rookie
Again just simply not true. Simmons has not improved his shot. No question, it's beyond ridiculous that he will probably never shoot consistently. That said, he absolutely has improved. His ball handling in the half court is so much better than it was as a rookie, he gets to the foul line more and every single season his free throw rate and free throw percentage has increased. In addition, his TS% went from 55.7% to 60.2% which is below average to better than Giannis.
Arguments I am NOT making:
- James Harden wouldn't be better for the sixers than Simmons.
Simmons is an awesome player. A top 15-20 player. Harden is a top 5 offensive player EVER. If James Harden is on your team you will immediately have a top 3 offense simply because he is there. He's that good. His playoff struggles are mostly overblown narrative BS because the team just hasn't won a title. He has never played with another superstar in their prime. Cp3 was the closest but he couldn't stay healthy and Westbrook is not a good player despite his counting stats.
- Ben Simmons is better than Embiid
Anyone that thinks Simmons is better than Joel Embiid is a moron I can't e
... keep reading on reddit ➡https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1364357309200269317?s=19
i have a Ben Simmons and Anthony Davis DM, i want to get rid of them as i have other cards better suitable for my lineup, however i also don’t want them to go for bad/absolute low prices.
So this post is basically to get a rough idea on what to expect if I decide to put those on the market, or if it would be better to just keep them.
Ben Simmons i have applied 13 HOFs (59 in total), unlim contracts and Kobe VI
Anthony Davis i have applied 2 HOFs (51 in total), unlim contracts and Kobe VI
both have HOF blinders applied.
By now most are likely familiar with Edward's pre-draft comments, in which he said, among other things:
- He doesn't watch the NBA
- He would walk away to play football if given the chance (because football players get to talk trash and dance on the field)
- He wants to be a rapper, but not like Damian Lillard. A real rapper... like Lil Baby.
- Hasn't been focused on basketball in the past, but that will change when he gets drafted.
There were already legitimate concerns as to his maturity and drive prior to the draft, and these unfortunately-timed comments aren't helping. His trainer panicked when the quotes surfaced and called the writer of the original article to clarify the comments (many of the trainer's explanations were in fact valid- Edwards was in fact effectively raised by his siblings after his mother and grandmother passed). Edwards is a massive talent, but his future is yet undetermined.
I'm curious as to which route he goes. Wiggins doesn't love the game and has underachieved, but is still a contributor with a massive upside (and accompanying contract), while Larry Sanders walked away to smoke and rap--and in doing so, effectively set the Bucks back years. Then there's Simmons, who had many of the same concerns coming out of college: he was a diva; he lacked work ethic; there was constant drama and his teammates and coaches disliked him. Yet, Simmons seems to have been able to put much some of that behind him and is poised for a really solid career, given he continues to progress in his shooting.
Where do you see Edwards ending up?
I feel like the five guys in the title are the five best defenders in the league. They occupied the five first-team all defense spots last season and I expect them all to have made their case for first team all-defense by the end of the season.
But I feel like there are outsiders looking in. Miles Turner is having himself quite a season. Draymond could improve his consistency through the season and remind everyone why he's one of the best defenders of all time. Young guys like Mikal Bridges and Lu Dort will also want to make cases.
Do you think one of the five guys in the title isn't a top five defender? And which of them is most likely to miss the all-defensive first team?
