Sixerscan wrote:Like I said in the other post, yes they literally started games but I meant like the quality of player. Talking about those guys versus a guy the NBA Coaches have multiple times selected as one of the 24 best players in the NBA and the media selected as one of the 15 best players in the NBA several months ago is completely different. There's a baseline value there that isn't going to crater like those did.
Spike Eskin is a great example of someone who was freaking out that and his trade value declining years ago and it hasn't happened yet. If he was right years ago, we wouldn't be talking about him being able to be traded for Harden now. And Embiid would have ripped Simmons' head off at this point. Oh *but now* is when it is definitely going to happen. Ok. Seems like projecting.
By the way, go take a look at Fultz now. Trade value doesn't just go down over time.
Well obviously Simmons is a better player than Nerlens/Okafor/Fultz, but I think you're intentionally trying to miss the point.
The fact that Simmons is better is already reflected in who he might be traded for. Do you think Nerlens/Okafor/Fultz could, at any point in their careers, be the centerpiece of a trade for Harden? Of course not.
The point being is whether or not he's an growing or declining asset, and I think it's reasonable to argue the latter. After his spectacular rookie season, he was a 21 year old who put up 16/8/8 and looked like a future MVP, a surefire top 5 player in the NBA. Now, I think it would be a welcome surprise if he ever gets there, because the pace of which he's improved offensively has been so slow.
He's also no longer on his rookie deal anymore. This is the first of his five year max deal. So his value right now is that, at 24, some team might believe they can develop his offensive game and turn him into top 10, top 5 caliber player and still have him locked up for many more years. What happens if, 2 years down the line, he's still not shooting, still hasn't made significant improvements offensively, is going on 27 and has only 2 years left on his deal? Do you think his value would be higher or lower than it is now?
It's starting to look more like Simmons won't be able to become a 1b (or even #2) player on a championship level team unless he develops an average shot. Yes, he's an all world defender. Yes, he's a great passer. Yes, he has every tool physically. But he's clearly not there yet.
The problem is that we have another superstar on the team that
is there already, and we have no idea how much longer he'll be in his prime. We can hang on to Simmons in the hopes that Embiid lasts, but what if he doesn't figure it out until Embiid starts declining? Then we'll have no window because their peaks didn't overlap. The best chance of winning is to get two superstars who are superstar level at the same time. We have no guarantee we'll have that with Simmons.
