tk76 wrote:Skates wrote:Might be a good time soon to redo this thread with a fresh poll and see if there has been movement one way or the other on this question/preference.
Given Ingram was ahead by a small margin after 2-3 days, it's pretty clear that sentiment has shifted strongly towards Simmons But it is not clear how man people have changed their minds as opposed to the undecideds being convinced that Simmons is the way to go.
.......
I still feel like Simmons is an all or nothing type pick in terms of the team's shot at building into a contender, where the team's ceiling will be closely tied to Simmons outcome... but I can certainly see how this could turn out for the best. But personally, I'm still not sold on either Simmons or Ingram being able to completely live up to their hype, and feel that picking Ingram would allow for more than one route to contention (whether he reaches his ceiling or not.) For example, should they have a high pick in 2017, there is no way they would bring in a dynamic, ball dominant wing or great forward unless that guy is already a good shooter. That might mean passing on a future Westbrook or Griffin type talent because on draft day they will want guys who fit with Simmons unique skill set. That type of risk only pays off if Simmons hits as a top 10 superstar.
The team has some good assets on the roster and a bunch of potentially great assets coming in down the road through picks, cap space and potential trades. Having Ingram would maximize your options for the types/roles of the other players you will need to add to become a contender. IMO, having Simmons on the roster will limit the types of players you can cash in your assets for- such as having to shy away from other potential stars on draft day if they are not pure shooters (whether the potential star is another big or ball dominant.) Along the same lines, if a star like Westbrook or Griffin hits the trade market next season, I doubt they cash in their chips in a trade due to worries about poor fit with Simmons... while with Ingram, you can trade in your other assets to plug that type of win-now star piece alongside Embiid-Ingram.
I understand your sentiment. But drafting the BPA would allow you to be flexible with the guy you drafted as an asset. And that asset can either get you the player you need down the road. It's easier to trade down for fit than trade up for talent.
The thing that worries me is that I personally think Simmons is a tough player to build around. Playing small with a superstar wing would require that wing player being an elite defender (see LBJ, KD and Kawhi). Simmons would need to play small with a big that is more inclined to be a spacer, and most of these guys have deficiencies on defense (see Love and Bosh). And I have mixed feelings on Simmons' defense. Some days I feel like his lack of elite length limits him to be a good rim protector and he do slack off on defense. Some days I feel like he can be a good defender with his speed, steals and DBPM numbers.
I also think that building around Simmons would require you to shift entirely into small ball (not defining size but style and speed). Simmons thrive playing with a breakneck speed, similar to John Wall. They do take advantage of defense not being set (won't allow them to sag off and wait for them in the paint), thus you see 26% of Simmons offense is off transition and there's a big drop in Simmons FG% around the rim in transition vs halfcourt (75% vs 55%).
3 years and the cards were dealt with were mostly talented bigs. I think we should use it to our advantage. It's our edge against small ball. Shifting into small ball would require you to match the perimeter fire powers of KD/Westbrook, LBJ/Kyrie or Klay/Curry.
Building around Simmons would require you to cross more bridges before contention. You will have to bet that you can add star caliber perimeter players to strengthen the small ball movement. You will have to bet that you can get good returns for our bigs.
And most importantly, you will have to bet that Simmons will be in the same echelon with GOAT level wings like KD or LBJ. While if you bet on Ingram, you are good if he can just be a Kawhi or Paul George level wing, since you have talented bigs (potential of the Jah-Embiid frontcourt) to compensate for it.
There’s never been a time in history when we look back and say that the people who were censoring free speech were the good guys.
