ATL - 2021-22 Regular Season Begins

[JayMKE]

Yi could have been better than he was, if it were now he would have been developed as a spot up stretch big and more of a specialist rather than a do everything star bigman. He’d still be Charmin Soft with toddler’s hands in oven mits but that role would limit him banging or trying to put the ball down. That seemed like direction he was going in before he left the league, guess its better to be a superstar in your home country than role player here

Now Thon sucked at everything but he played hard

[Balls2TheWalls]

Was there a credible report that Philly turned down Halliburton and Hield (or Barnes would work, too, salary wise), or was that just people theorizing? Because that trade would improve Philly.

Everything I read said that Haliburton and Fox are off limits.

https://theathletic.com/2803587/2021/09/01/source-ben-simmons-trade-price-is-currently-too-steep-for-the-kings/

[Jez2983]

Lakers look like trash! They’re not even making the finals let alone win them

They'll be ok but it's a long season and they old.

[WRau1]

I saw on FB that if BKN and the Knicks met in the playoffs, Kyrie wouldn't be able to play in that series at all. That's hilarious and enough of a reason to trade him, IMO.

[ReasonablySober]

Read on Twitter

[emunney]

What in the world does that mean? A resolution? There's nothing keeping him from showing up except his own representation.

[emunney]

Read on Twitter

Morey: Here's our offer, Ben: you show up and we start paying you again.

Rich Paul: <works around the clock>

[Ron Swanson]

They're really gonna let this bleed into the regular season and implode the Philly locker room, aren't they? Morey is a dolt.

[PG Graveyard]

Klutch should take a hit in this ordeal. Their representation is subpar.

[raferfenix]

Rich Paul and Morey are very concerned about winning press conferences.

Paul working around the clock won't do much to make him look better though when Simmons begrudgingly comes back to stop the bleeding of his paycheck.

Morey may or may not look terrible when a trade inevitably happens.

If the deal is for something more and less like what he could have done over the summer that would have been a ton of drama they could have avoided, especially for a contender(?) that could have used a more normal training camp and preseason.

However until it happens there's still the chance Morey wins out. It just takes 1 bad gm from a desperate team.

[skbucks1985]

Not sure what I am loving more this pre season. Philly vs Simmons or Kyrie vs Vaccinations.

Latest news that Kyrie may retire if the Nets trade him is gold, especially combined with the nets growing belief they won't get him for any home games this season... surely you can't carry that risk the entire season, especially if you can't get him for home play off games.

The story from a few days ago that he will be able to practice with the team because the city granted them the technicality of their practice facility being an office and not a gym I think only prolongs this further. If Kyrie couldn't play in home games and couldn't practice, that's an untenable situation. But him being able to practice buys them some time hoping Kyrie eventually gets vaccinated or the mandate is dropped.

[raferfenix]

Over / under on Kyrie caving?

It's just so much money he'd have to give up.

And he clearly does not want to be traded.

For that matter the Nets might jump at the chance to do so if they could really do the Simmons swap.

However it's far from clear Durant would ever give his blessing (even if it costs him a ring/s)...or that Morey would be desperate enough to risk it all on an unvaccinated Kyrie all set to cause a different tier of drama than he has at any point in his career.

[MikeIsGood]

Honestly...I think Simmons on the Nets, allowing both Durant and Harden to be more ball-dominant and letting Simmons be the ++roleplayer he's destined to be, would be a win for the Nets. As long as KD doesn't throw a tantrum about it. I'm guessing Harden doesn't give 2 ****.

Could be a win for the Sixers, also, but it's a real **** wildcard.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Honestly...I think Simmons on the Nets, allowing both Durant and Harden to be more ball-dominant and letting Simmons be the ++roleplayer he's destined to be, would be a win for the Nets. As long as KD doesn't throw a tantrum about it. I'm guessing Harden doesn't give 2 ****.

Could be a win for the Sixers, also, but it's a real **** wildcard.

While it obviously could be a disaster because of the loony people involved as a Bucks fan I don't want a Kyrie/Simmons swap because as you point out there's a chance that could be pretty good for both the Sixers and Nets from a basketball perspective.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[chonestown]

Rich Paul should concentrate on his American Family commercials is what my takeaway is.

[raferfenix]

Simmons on the Nets seems like a scary proposition.

However they did just leak how atypical his development has been as a #1 pick who was not on an awful team to develop without pressure, in which case Baby Ben might prefer less pressure on a losing team, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't make the move anyways if Durant agrees.

I have a hard time imagining Kyrie Irving on the Sixers working out though.

That's not to say Morey wouldn't do it if only since bringing in a flashy star would help him win the press conference announcing the trade.

But Kyrie was way injury prone and tough in the lockerroom already before you add in all the anti-vaxxer stuff. There is recent history with Irving's underwhelming Celtics tenure to show that Philly could get burned badly both on and off the court as well.

[TroyD92]

Unless Kyrie gets the vaccine he's basically untradeable

[MiltownHawkeye]

I just don't see how Simmons playing raises his value unless he improves to the point where the Sixers would be foolish to shop him in the first place. It feels like the Sixers and their fanbase realize they've botched their building around Embiid by not adding any real starting guards and not taking advantage of the Simmons asset when it had value.

Now everything they do/say is done from the standpoint that other teams should bail them out and hand them perimeter talent. I think they're going to regret not just taking a Brogdon/LeVert/pick type of deal and running, the only reason they have trouble stomaching that is because it's a reminder that their #1 pick amounted to nothing besides some accolades and 2nd round exits.

I think his value can absolutely go lower. I might not explain this properly but I feel like when you're one of these players whose value lies in secondary playmaking/defense/being sort of a "wild card", the line between being an advanced stats All-Star and being a negative is way thinner than when you're just a bonafide scorer and creator. Guys like Indiana Lance Stephenson, Charlotte Batum, we've seen it a little bit with Draymond,and now Ben Simmons - if they're not engaged or playing with energy or not getting the offense catered to their strengths and weaknesses the dropoff is way bigger. I have a hard time believing that Simmons is going to just put up his 16/8/8 with elite defense in that environment and I question what that was doing for the team anyway.

[DingleJerry]

Yea the Indiana option or going back to Portland and backing down on some 1st for CJ seems like such an easy end to this. You're desperate to trade him, you're desperate for Gs who can shoot. Both those options address both. Make the best of it and move on. If your 3 picks and 2 swaps was too much for Por (I agree with Por there), go back and drop it and meet in the middle somehow.

[SupremeHustle]

I wonder if the Bucks would have done the Jrue deal for Simmons.