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[AtheJ415]

Simmons is signed through 2025, and will be making 40 mill that year. :O

His contract might be worse than Wall's.

[JDJ26]

He's elite on one side of the floor and because of his inability to shoot (from range or from FT line), he's just become so exploitable. Even if he doesn't become a good shooter, as long as he gets to the point where he's not exploitable on that side of the floor then he's certainly playing up to his contract.

I don't know if it's reworking his shot, shooting right handed or seeing a sports psychologist, or a combination of the three but he's doing himself a massive disservice by doing none of those things.

The problem is he is too arrogant to change.

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[BobbieL]

If they lose this game, he's gone this summer. I still see a McCollum for Simmons type deal taking place.

I just replied to a tweet with this trade. Great minds think alike

Sixers need to do something

This will sound hot takey but it isn't. Simmons is criminally overrated. He has a reputation as this elite playmaker who can pass incredibly well but he's not. He mostly just initiates offense by dribbling up the court, passing to the side, and rotating to the dunk spot. He doesn't run pick & roll, doesn't get others open, doesn't really do much of anything on offense creatively except in transition, where you have numbers and most would make the easy / correct read. His contract is insane for a Draymond type player, who only works with the greatest shooting backcourt of all time and even then I wouldn't call Draymond a net positive player anymore. Steph would've averaged 40 if Draymond didn't allow the easy double every play.

I honestly wouldn't trade Cam Johnson for Simmons if the salaries were equal. He's not a 3 and D player. He's a defensive role player who is petrified of shooting and is only a good playmaker compared to his position / height. So is Dario, and Dario ain't all that. If Simmons would at least drive to the hoop and use his height / athleticism to make layups or dunks he'd be okay, but still nowhere near close to the all star he's considered, which is just from reputation, draft pick status, and people overvaluing the little things. Playmaking and offensive efficiency is still by FAR the most valuable skillset in the league, and he does none of that at close to even an above average level, to put it kindly.

I struggle to see how Simmons will ever be better than the 4th best player on a title team. I like Dame a lot and really hope they don't move CJ for him because CJ is worth his contract at the least. I think Simmons ends up on a rebuild job like Houston or OKC, who knows they have time to wait out the contract and see if he develops. Dude is right handed so maybe rebuild his entire shot shooting righty instead of lefty.

Also if it isn't clear from that above, if Draymond were ever to become available imo Phx should run the other way. We're good now because we have no weak shooters and 1 weak defender who barely plays.

I get that Simmons cannot score and in trading for McCallum the Blazers would be losing his ability to score. But in Portland, offense is not the problem. Granted, you are right, he might not have any value left . I am sure it would be discussed by both teams. Portland probably needs to shake things up as well

[Keith_myath]

Jesus Christ man, does it seem like the other top big men in the playoffs are trying to duck Ayton? Gobert gone and now biid gone. There's still Gianni's I guess

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He may have to guard Lopez which will really draw him out. I'd like him to guard Giannis but who could possibly guard Lopez? I certainly don't want to play two bigs.

Lulz.

If the Bucks want to try and beat us with Lopez tossing up 3's all game, then they must come into question for tanking. Works in our favour if we allow Lopez to chuck up bad 3's.

[Barkley6]

Jesus Christ man, does it seem like the other top big men in the playoffs are trying to duck Ayton? Gobert gone and now biid gone. There's still Gianni's I guess

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He may have to guard Lopez which will really draw him out. I'd like him to guard Giannis but who could possibly guard Lopez? I certainly don't want to play two bigs.

Lulz.

If the Bucks want to try and beat us with Lopez tossing up 3's all game, then they must come into question for tanking. Works in our favour if we allow Lopez to chuck up bad 3's.

Booker can guard Lopez at this point. All you have to do is close out on him.

[darealjuice]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

[BobbieL]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

Its why I mentioned McCAllum for Simmons. Portland probably is not going to be the same team . They have been the same team for a few years and they have a really good player who probably wants to win more. And McCallum seems like he would get value. Not sure if Simmons would be enough but it works straight up salary wise.

[darealjuice]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

Its why I mentioned McCAllum for Simmons. Portland probably is not going to be the same team . They have been the same team for a few years and they have a really good player who probably wants to win more. And McCallum seems like he would get value. Not sure if Simmons would be enough but it works straight up salary wise.

I can see the logic, I just don't know if that fills the point guard hole that the Sixers have by dumping Simmons. I'm not a big fan of pairing Lillard with Simmons either.

[RunDogGun]

Simmons is signed through 2025, and will be making 40 mill that year. :O

His contract might be worse than Wall's.

Unless Simmons spends every offseason working on his shot.

[RunDogGun]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

Its why I mentioned McCAllum for Simmons. Portland probably is not going to be the same team . They have been the same team for a few years and they have a really good player who probably wants to win more. And McCallum seems like he would get value. Not sure if Simmons would be enough but it works straight up salary wise.

I can see the logic, I just don't know if that fills the point guard hole that the Sixers have by dumping Simmons. I'm not a big fan of pairing Lillard with Simmons either.

Have Simmons play sf and he can run the offense when Lillard sits.

[Bogyo]

Its why I mentioned McCAllum for Simmons. Portland probably is not going to be the same team . They have been the same team for a few years and they have a really good player who probably wants to win more. And McCallum seems like he would get value. Not sure if Simmons would be enough but it works straight up salary wise.

I can see the logic, I just don't know if that fills the point guard hole that the Sixers have by dumping Simmons. I'm not a big fan of pairing Lillard with Simmons either.

Have Simmons play sf and he can run the offense when Lillard sits.

I was also on this idea a while back, but the more I look at Simmons the less I see how the Blazers get better OVERALL with this trade.
They gain on playmaking a bit, and more on D - but they lose so much on scoring, shooting, spacing...
On the Sixers side - they only have Embiid as a superstar after this, CJ is just not one, however good he is.

I think if I were the Sixers I'd throw everything at the Blazers for Lillard, then round out the rest with whatever... The Blazers could get Simmons, Curry, Thybull and maybe 1-2 picks depending on protectinons and scheduling of those picks... Not sure if that's something the Blazers would do, as they are not going anywhere with that squad either - but they would have pieces to work from maybe, or if Lillard likes the idea and they do him a solid.

[RunDogGun]

I don't know, Portland still has Simons, who shot almost 43% from three, which was better than CJ. If Simmons can work on his shot, I think it could help Portland a lot. I don't see why Portland would move Lillard.

[Wilber85]

I don't know, Portland still has Simons, who shot almost 43% from three, which was better than CJ. If Simmons can work on his shot, I think it could help Portland a lot. I don't see why Portland would move Lillard.

Once Becky Hammond is announced as Head Coach, Dame will be gone lol

[BobbieL]

I don't know, Portland still has Simons, who shot almost 43% from three, which was better than CJ. If Simmons can work on his shot, I think it could help Portland a lot. I don't see why Portland would move Lillard.

I would think they would want to keep Lillard and change the rest of the roster. Zach Collins shows potential, can't stay healthy; not sure what Nurkic brings. They can waive Nurkic and save $8m; So with Collins thats $24m of cap space so they could get under the cap.

Trade McCollum - thats 30m of salary going out so who knows what they can get back

[lilfishi22]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

That's probably more disrespectful to Draymond than Simmons lol

Draymond at least shoots, is decent at the FT line and is a better defender than Simmons imo. Better team communicator, seems to care a heck of a lot more about winning and basically has never been overpaid.

[lilfishi22]

I can see the logic, I just don't know if that fills the point guard hole that the Sixers have by dumping Simmons. I'm not a big fan of pairing Lillard with Simmons either.

Have Simmons play sf and he can run the offense when Lillard sits.

I was also on this idea a while back, but the more I look at Simmons the less I see how the Blazers get better OVERALL with this trade.
They gain on playmaking a bit, and more on D - but they lose so much on scoring, shooting, spacing...
On the Sixers side - they only have Embiid as a superstar after this, CJ is just not one, however good he is.

I think if I were the Sixers I'd throw everything at the Blazers for Lillard, then round out the rest with whatever... The Blazers could get Simmons, Curry, Thybull and maybe 1-2 picks depending on protectinons and scheduling of those picks... Not sure if that's something the Blazers would do, as they are not going anywhere with that squad either - but they would have pieces to work from maybe, or if Lillard likes the idea and they do him a solid.

No way they would move Dame for that. At this point Simmons is closer to "damaged goods" than a young up and coming star. I think that package may net them CJ and honestly, that wouldn't be half bad. Sixer's defense would get worse but their offense would make a ton more sense and having a really solid, star level shot creator/passer in CJ would do wonders for that team. On the other hand, I just don't see why Portland would do it. I mentioned in another post, at a high level it kind of makes sense as both players need a change of scenery but Portland is getting the worse player here

[lilfishi22]

I don't know, Portland still has Simons, who shot almost 43% from three, which was better than CJ. If Simmons can work on his shot, I think it could help Portland a lot. I don't see why Portland would move Lillard.

That's kind of the issue. If he can work on his shot, they probably wouldn't be in this position right now.

[bwgood77]

They should have done a draft prospect show along with the lottery tonight with no NBA games.

[darealjuice]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

That's probably more disrespectful to Draymond than Simmons lol

Draymond at least shoots, is decent at the FT line and is a better defender than Simmons imo. Better team communicator, seems to care a heck of a lot more about winning and basically has never been overpaid.

I just meant that he's more of a complementary "star" player than Superstar.

I don't think it's that disrespectful to Draymond though. Simmons has his obvious flaws, but he does things on the floor that Draymond can't too. You can't just give the ball to Draymond and expect him to create offense. His combination of size, athleticism, skill, and playmaking is just hard to come by. I agree that Draymond is the slightly better defender and that his intangibles are clearly better, but he's also been at/under 30% from 3 for the last 5 years and wasn't very impressive without Steph, KD, and Klay last year.

Simmons will show his value more with spacing, shooters, and a 5 that can play pick and roll/pop well. Simmons and Embiid don't have mutually beneficial play styles. Embiid's post-centric offense leaves a big in the paint when Simmons attacks, and Simmons being a non-shooter at his size allows a bigger defender to pretty much play free safety when he's off ball. I don't think he'll ever reach his potential, but I would be a bit concerned if Pop got his hands on him. He can basically be a poor man's Giannis with better shot selection lol.

[lilfishi22]

Philly needed Simmons to be a superstar, but he's closer to Draymond Green than he is LeBron James. It's pretty obvious that they both need a change of scenery. Embiid was dominant with more shooting around him this year, I'd imagine they'll want to swap Simmons out for someone that can shoot and handle the ball more.

Simmons is so interesting because he's clearly very talented, but his work ethic must not be there considering he lazed his way through his year at LSU and hasn't added much to his game since coming into the league. His time has definitely run its course in Philly.

Happy for the Hawks. I've been a big fan of Trae Young, and they have the young talent to sustain winning for a bit. Nice to see a rebuild go well.

That's probably more disrespectful to Draymond than Simmons lol

Draymond at least shoots, is decent at the FT line and is a better defender than Simmons imo. Better team communicator, seems to care a heck of a lot more about winning and basically has never been overpaid.

I just meant that he's more of a complementary "star" player than Superstar.

I don't think it's that disrespectful to Draymond though. Simmons has his obvious flaws, but he does things on the floor that Draymond can't too. You can't just give the ball to Draymond and expect him to create offense. His combination of size, athleticism, skill, and playmaking is just hard to come by. I agree that Draymond is the slightly better defender and that his intangibles are clearly better, but he's also been at/under 30% from 3 for the last 5 years and wasn't very impressive without Steph, KD, and Klay last year.

Simmons will show his value more with spacing, shooters, and a 5 that can play pick and roll/pop well. Simmons and Embiid don't have mutually beneficial play styles. Embiid's post-centric offense leaves a big in the paint when Simmons attacks, and Simmons being a non-shooter at his size allows a bigger defender to pretty much play free safety when he's off ball. I don't think he'll ever reach his potential, but I would be a bit concerned if Pop got his hands on him. He can basically be a poor man's Giannis with better shot selection lol.

As in give the guy a ball and create a shot for himself or for the team? Draymond has never been afraid to to score if the opportunity is there and in particular, down the stretch. Maybe some shots are better left for Steph, Klay or KD but he's not afraid to shoot the damn thing if he's open or if he's down on the block. I totally get that Simmons in Draymond's position with Klay, KD, Steph next to him would diminish need for offense from him compared with the Sixers where he really does need to do more than 5 FGA in the 4th quarter the entire playoffs. That said, if Draymond was in Simmon's position with the Sixers, I think it's a different story. The different is that I still think he's a drop off from what Dray gives you because he's exploitable unlike Draymond where given the wide open 3PT shot, he could hit a few and he's solid at the FT line. I do think putting shooters and spacing around Simmons is the best way to really show off his talent, in the same way surrounding Draymond did it for him.

On the point about Giannis, the reason why Giannis is in a different league than Simmons despite having similar weaknesses (limited range, iffy FT shooter) is because he's not afraid to put the team on his back and shoot a shot if he's open or force double teams down low when he gets down there or put himself in a position to get to the line even though he's shooting a hair over 50%. FWIW, Giannis did shoot something like 32% from range the past two playoffs so he's not completely leave-able out there. Simmons not shooting really is a massive exploitable weakness especially in playoffs. He's gotta change something