rpa wrote:BoogieTime wrote:
And that was the series that somehow erased the commodity that was Ben Simmons
IMO I think Morey knows Ben's worth, and he wont be attainable. I think they have to attempt to run it back, if they don't get a nice offer. Even if it means Doc Rivers apologizing or stepping down for that stupid comment about not knowing if Ben can be a championship guard. By the same token if they are forced to trade him, and we outbid, and somehow Fox and Haliburton (and assets) are still on this team, which Im not anticipating, I still wouldnt dig the fit between Simmons, Fox, and Haliburton. That would test the adage of can you have too much playmaking lol
I think the dig against Simmons isn't that he's a bad player--it's that he's a really good player that becomes a liability in the last 2 minutes of a game because:
a) He can't shoot at all (be it jumpers, free throws, whatever)
b) He's far less effective in the half court than in transition (and in the last 2 minutes you won't see any transition play in a close game)
So in the last 2 minutes what do you do? You can't play him off ball because defenders will sag way down. You can put the ball in his hands, but he's not a huge scoring threat--and if he does appear to be gaining an advantage the defense will just foul him.
Don't get me wrong, adding him to the Kings almost certainly makes them better, but I just don't see a package the Kings can offer where the fit maximizes Simmons. Consider:
1) You trade Fox for him straight up. That's great and all, but now you don't have any strong scoring threats. When you need a bucket who exactly do you go to?
2) You trade Hali for him. Even ignoring how value Haliburton is, the problem here is the salary matching. You need shooting around Simmons, but you'd giving up at least one of Hield or Barnes (maybe both) to match salaries. A lineup featuring Fox, Holmes, and Simmons is going to have problems with spacing.
3) You somehow trade Hield/Bagley/picks for him. Great, but now who's your lead ball handler? Whoever it is the other one is going to have to play offball (bad). What about Haliburton? He can get a bunch of touches with Fox and Simmons on the bench, but you're limiting his impact by taking him so far off the ball.
These are all very good points. Very well written and laid out imo.
Its also the big reason id prefer to go after Siakam over Simmons every day of the week. I think between Mitchell/Haliburton/Fox we have our "lead ball handler" role covered. That said, I'm never opposed to bringing in more guys who can handle, id just prefer it to be a guy who can play on/off ball. Simmons isn't that guy. However Siakam absolutely is. Siakam has been miscast as the #1 option the last 2 years, but put him in the #2 role and watch him elevate again.
I see Fox - Hali - Barnes - Siakam - Holmes as the absolute perfect fit. Mitchell - Davis - Harkless - Len is fine of the bench as well.
If we are talking about giving Buddy/Bagley/3 1sts for a guy, id much rather do that for Siakam than Simmons. Even if its considered the right price for Simmons and an overpay for Siakam.
