I agree, the Simmons hate is out of control here, people are talking like he's the worst player ever. I keep seeing things like "lazy", "entitled", "broken", "no heart", I mean come on, it's getting ridiculous.
I think everyone here including supporters will acknowledge he's got some flaws. The question is are they correctable. I think they might be. Look at how down everyone was on Wiggins (and I don't mean just because of the contract). We heard many of the same things about him that we're hearing now about Simmons. Now Wiggins is not only a viable starter but many are hesitant to trade him. That's after only a couple years of rehab here (and his first year doesn't really even count because it was a total s***show) and a change in scenery. The same is possible with Simmons.
Also, "can't shoot". First it's more he
doesn't shoot, from distance. Second, he shoots 56% overall for his career, that's pretty good. He shoots significantly better near the rim (0-3 feet) than both Steph and Wiggins (who are both pretty good finishers), and similar from 3-10. After that his % drops off drastically but so do his attempts so it's a very small sample size. And you know what? Operating around the rim and doing it with high efficiency is really important! We need that too. Wiseman is still all over the place and you know for damn sure Draymond is going to blow more layups than he makes.
Having Simmons in there would unlock so many things because he's an elite passer and elite defender. Steph and Klay would have a field day with Simmons operating inside, right now teams can ignore him on the perimeter but they cannot ignore him inside. Especially if it's possible to get Seth Curry in the deal, he would provide all the outside shooting we need and Simmons would provide the interior athleticism, passing, and defense. Dude can guard 1-5 most of the time. Simmons could play at C or PF, or SF in a pinch. Seth Curry would be an elite bench microwave, or start, or form a fearsome small-ball attack playing alongside Steph and Klay. If you can get both Simmons and Seth, there's massive flexibility.
Bottom line is I think it's way to early to declare him a deadbeat, dude has incredible athletic gifts and skill, is still really young, and someone just needs to unlock it...and GS is the best environment to do it. He doesn't have to carry the scoring load here and the team-wide championship mentality isn't going to allow him to dog it (especially if Draymond is staying). He's going to bring it on defense, he's already proven that, and we really need that. Personally, I'm still on the fence about it, but I don't think the Simmons possibility should be dismissed so easily.
