Pick one of Simmons, Morant, Nunn, SGA or Young

[og15]

Simmons is the worst shooter on the list, but better at everything else. He is a class above. Not confident in SGA as he is too timid and likely to take a passive role on a winning team. Trae is just too small. Once he loses his elite mobility, he has little left to offer like Lou Williams. Nunn is not there yet. Morant has the talent, but he has failed to improve this year and may have peaked. Simmons is a proven commodity and a far superior player who can add decent shooting to his game and become MVP.

By too timid you mean more drives per game than any other player in like 15 years? Or top 5 all time PPP in isolation, in between peak CP3’s top 3 offensive seasons? Or maybe the elite PNR play? Trying to figure out which aspect of timid are you referring to? The Blazers average 30 drives per game as a team. The Nuggets 33. SGA by himself is over 25!

I like Shai and am not bashing him, but he is a pass first guy that is being forced into a primary scoring role. He is #1 option and has only scored 30 points nine times this season. Is there any other #1 option that has such a low mark? Bradley Beal, for example, has hit that mark 27 times this year, in a similar situation. Shai is a great third option and maybe a decent second option, but I don’t see him ever reaching #1 option on a Championship caliber team. Both Morant and Trae can be a legit #1 options if they are lucky.

9/35 games is 26% of games, that's not bad when he averages 23.7 ppg. Is that championship team first option scoring, no it is not unless he is a co-first option.

Comparing to Beal who is leading the league in scoring and averaging 31 ppg is probably not fair though.

I can agree that he isn't a first option on a championship team, at least not in that lone first option role, sure, but he can be a co-first option.

Kawhi for example only scores 30+ in 23% and of games, but he has another first option-ish player alongside him.

[LordCovington33]

Simmons is the best of the lot (multiple all star), but if you put him on a team with Gobert, it would get ugly.

[total1096]

For the Jazz I would take Simmons for his defense, rebounding and finishing at the rim.

Personality wouldn't fit so well.

[stormi]

SGA easy.

Why the hell is Kendrick Nunn in this poll

[clippertown]

I like Shai and am not bashing him, but he is a pass first guy that is being forced into a primary scoring role. He is #1 option and has only scored 30 points nine times this season. Is there any other #1 option that has such a low mark? Bradley Beal, for example, has hit that mark 27 times this year, in a similar situation. Shai is a great third option and maybe a decent second option, but I don’t see him ever reaching #1 option on a Championship caliber team. Both Morant and Trae can be a legit #1 options if they are lucky.

Third option

Im scratching my head as well. We dont know for now if he can really be a #1 option on a championship caliber team but one thing is for sure, he definitely aint a third option in a team. 23.5 pts per game and over 50% fg percentage? And just 23 years old?

He starting to look like a Manu and Harden combination type of player.

Julius Randle was averaging 16ppg with the Lakers and 24ppg with the Knicks. Marcus Morris Jr averaged 20ppg with the Knicks and only 13ppg with the Clippers. SGA’s numbers are reflective of these. Put him on a team with better scorers and he will start averaging 15ppg and look less awesome. No doubt that Westbrook was a better player with OKC than SGA is with OKC. He has talent, but I see him reaching his ceiling right now as the #1 option and not the floor.

[IronflagNZ]

Third option

Im scratching my head as well. We dont know for now if he can really be a #1 option on a championship caliber team but one thing is for sure, he definitely aint a third option in a team. 23.5 pts per game and over 50% fg percentage? And just 23 years old?

He starting to look like a Manu and Harden combination type of player.

Julius Randle was averaging 16ppg with the Lakers and 24ppg with the Knicks. Marcus Morris Jr averaged 20ppg with the Knicks and only 13ppg with the Clippers. SGA’s numbers are reflective of these. Put him on a team with better scorers and he will start averaging 15ppg and look less awesome. No doubt that Westbrook was a better player with OKC than SGA is with OKC. He has talent, but I see him reaching his ceiling right now as the #1 option and not the floor.

Put Beal on any contender he won't average 31ppg either.

[Stickmann]

Third option

Im scratching my head as well. We dont know for now if he can really be a #1 option on a championship caliber team but one thing is for sure, he definitely aint a third option in a team. 23.5 pts per game and over 50% fg percentage? And just 23 years old?

He starting to look like a Manu and Harden combination type of player.

Julius Randle was averaging 16ppg with the Lakers and 24ppg with the Knicks. Marcus Morris Jr averaged 20ppg with the Knicks and only 13ppg with the Clippers. SGA’s numbers are reflective of these. Put him on a team with better scorers and he will start averaging 15ppg and look less awesome. No doubt that Westbrook was a better player with OKC than SGA is with OKC. He has talent, but I see him reaching his ceiling right now as the #1 option and not the floor.

That might be a little true if Sga efficiency was off the charts while creating like 90 percent off his offense off the dribble and on pull up shots basically by himself. Yeah he really has hit his ceiling in his third year in the league smh. He’s creating his offense at an 2018 MVP harden rate

[Tomjas]

lol at poll results

News flash: only one of them wins now and has since he entered the league

[Stickmann]

lol at poll results

News flash: only one of them wins now and has since he entered the league

Is this the new "qb wins" stat? It's a team sport, we've had multiple all time greats be labeled "losers" because their franchsie wasn't cutting and quite literally win the the championship the minute they get shipped off to more competent franchises. What changed for KG between the summer of 2007 and spring of 2008 ? Did he suddenly "learn to win" while playing with notorious winners like pre big 3 paul pierce, ray allen, and doc rivers, who had a combined 1 playoff win since 2003?

[BloodNinja]

lol at poll results

News flash: only one of them wins now and has since he entered the league

Morant and Trae have their teams in the playoffs.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

I voted Simmons, but i'm also a Sixers fan. I'm also very critical of Simmons at times. I wish he looked to score more than he does, the disappearing acts on offense can be quite irritating at times, but he's damn near elite everywhere else on the floor. He's an incredible defensive player, very versatile, can guard Anthony Davis or Trae Young. I feel like once he expands his offensive game he'll be an MVP. I can't say the same about the other players on this list. I don't think any of them will ever win a MVP award. Trae Young has a chance if he ever gets to playing winning basketball. I think the trajectory for Simmons isn't quite as dramatic of a pitch. I think it's by far more gradual. You're looking at a player that probably wont even peak until he's in his tenth season in the league. I think his game will slowly evolve into the complete package similar to the way Lebrons did. As great as Embiid is right now for them, I actually look for Simmons to pass him up as the lead guy as time goes on. I think the city of Philly needs to practice patience with Simmons because the end result will be worth it and will equate to rings, or the potential to win them on a yearly basis. Unfortunately, patience isn't one of the virtues with that city. Allen Iverson couldn't survive it and he was as hard nosed as they get. I'm afraid we'll all see the best of Ben Simmons on a different team, but a Sixer fan can dream I guess.

[DCasey91]

I’m taking Trae and I wouldn’t think twice about it.
He might be the most slept on star in the NBA right now.

Simmons is exactly what he is right now, he’s not a natural scorer/shooter but to add to the fact he actually fundamentally has poor big man skills, he can’t just gain an elite scoring reportoire overnight if ever. Reality is he just doesn’t have the skillset/athletically too. Length, Deceleration/verticality it’s all there.

Would be a fine third option (most versatile defender on the team) only if the other two are elite offensive options as the 1/2 option. Also he’s not the best defender in our team, but we have absolute top tier defenders at every position basically lol.

Ben can’t run a team as the best player to a top 4 playoff birth imo that’s fantasy the W/L’s record when it’s Ben without Embiid bears that out thoroughly. Though he could have an uptick in production but he himself caps that out entirely and one else. He can shoot but doesn’t that’s on him.

Morant needs to work on his jumper, also health may come into question down the line.

SGA vs Trae is a good one. Either or is a great choice

I’d like Trae on a Grizzles/76ers setup to cover his defensive deficiencies and super prop up a team’s weak point (offense).

Never sleep on a guy that can drop 30/10 on a regular occurrence while playing playoff basketball as the best player on the team. He has no All Stars this year either and he’s the main engine.

I just think Trae has the biggest upside as the lead option.

[Soulyss]

LOL @ Nunn being included in this list. I think the pick will be highly dependent on roster composition. For Boston I would choose Ja... but for Utah I would pick Simmons. Fit matters.

[og15]

lol at poll results

News flash: only one of them wins now and has since he entered the league

Is this the new "qb wins" stat? It's a team sport, we've had multiple all time greats be labeled "losers" because their franchsie wasn't cutting and quite literally win the the championship the minute they get shipped off to more competent franchises. What changed for KG between the summer of 2007 and spring of 2008 ? Did he suddenly "learn to win" while playing with notorious winners like pre big 3 paul pierce, ray allen, and doc rivers, who had a combined 1 playoff win since 2003?

Based on my experience, many people generally won't answer these questions and will just divert or make some excuse. The unequal standards of evaluation and context absent analysis can get tiring to address.

If I say one player is better because of more team winning, I have put myself in the position where I have to give a proper analysis of what the winning of the player would look like if they switched positions. If I don't address that, then I'm really not saying much.

[kg01]

lol at poll results

News flash: only one of them wins now and has since he entered the league

Is this the new "qb wins" stat? It's a team sport, we've had multiple all time greats be labeled "losers" because their franchsie wasn't cutting and quite literally win the the championship the minute they get shipped off to more competent franchises. What changed for KG between the summer of 2007 and spring of 2008 ? Did he suddenly "learn to win" while playing with notorious winners like pre big 3 paul pierce, ray allen, and doc rivers, who had a combined 1 playoff win since 2003?

Based on my experience, many people generally won't answer these questions and will just divert or make some excuse. The unequal standards of evaluation and context absent analysis can get tiring to address.

If I say one player is better because of more team winning, I have put myself in the position where I have to give a proper analysis or what the winning of the played would look like if they switched positions. If I don't address that, then I'm really not saying much.

Preach.

[Crizzle]

I expected Jas trajectory to be greater this year. He has to develop a shot because defenses know how to defend him as of now. But JJJ has been missing all year. That lack of spacing and extra load he has to carry surely has something to do with the Meh season he is having

[Beethoven]

Imagine you will choose one of these five as your point guard for your win-now team. Like Celtics squad maybe.

Who would you choose from following guards for winning now and also for future.

Ben Simmons
Ja Morant
Kendrick Nunn
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander
Trae Young

good question. I would like to get SGA just bc he is my favorite amongst the five. (could care less for Trae and Nunn though) . But logically, I would have to go with Simmons if I have to win nw.

[The_Hater]

I’m trying to figure out which is worse, that Nunn was included with this group or that 19 people actually thought he was the best current player of the 5 as of January 2020? If I remember correctly, he wasn’t even in the Heat rotation a few months later.

[mateos]

I created the poll, so for those asking why Nunn is in the list, all i can say is it is my bad. Sorry for this.

I live in Europe, Turkey. Thus; i watched only couple of Nunn's games (all of them was at 2 or 4 am) and so it mislead me to an early decision i guess. He seemed more than ok to me.

Trae from last year excites me with all his hype. But whenever i watch him i just can not see him leading a winning team. Not now not in future. He can score easily but his playmaking just looks, how can i say, not enough. His passes after dribble all looked bad to me. Maybe it is because his team is young too.

Again my bad about Nunn.

[Yeezus_]

For now it's Simmons but I need to see how he performs in the playoffs on the offensive end. I'm taking SGA second though. None of these other players are good enough on both ends to be dominant. Morant better end up becoming an offensive stud if he continues not playing defense or his career trajectory will alter.