I'd certainly do that. Dame Trent Simmons Nurk is a contender. I'm usually against all CJ trade talk. But if you can bring in a potential guy like Simmons you do it just about no matter the cost. Its like the Rockets getting Hardin. If the Sixers do break up their duo yes the Blazers should jump in. I do think CJ makes sense for both sides. Not sure Neil/Dame will entertain any CJ trades.
Who did the Pelicans get for Davis, or the Spurs for Kawhi, or the Bulls for Jimmy Butler, or Pacers for Paul George? A team never gets equivalent talent back in these trades. Maybe a CJ package doesn't get it done but he has the name and game to make that package a legit offer.
No, they didn't, because they traded away an all-time great talent. But they did an impressive job of maximizing a bad situation, since Davis wanted out.
Agreed, I'd love to land him similarly, keep Dame and Nurk, and tell me what you want for him. I don't think CJ/Collins/Simons is too much to give. I see no reason he can't play the Draymond Green role for us at the 3 or the 4. Big, great defending playmaker. His passing and playmaking combined with Dame and Nurk? Sign me up.
They never won anything with Davis. Ingram is an All Star and younger than Davis. Add all those other pieces and I don’t think it’s close. My opinion.
Teams wouldn't be able to trap Lillard/Simmons pick n rolls, but that's a PnR duo that's far less effective than Dame+Nurk, AND theres many other ways to beat a blitz thatd compliment Dame+Nurkic better. Simmons is getting close to his ceiling IMO. People base too much off age and not off of what a players ceiling is. Wiggins was going to keep getting better because of his "age", and he didnt. Having two non-shooters next to Dame makes no sense. You're making it harder for Dame to do what he does best when Simmons is out there. Also, I disagree with the notion that "we have enough shooting".
Ben Simmons is one if the most overrated players in the league. Not good enough to be a #1 but his game doesnt fit that of a #2 (which would be the only reason Philly would trade him in the first place).
Have we reached the point yet where Ingram is better than Simmons? (Both have been mentioned in this thread, so it seems tangentially relevant) I remember being convinced that Ingram should absolutely have been the pick over Simmons that year based solely on his shooting ability. It's feeling like he's finally justifying that position.
I think Simmons is the rarer talent but Ingram is the better player in today's game. Maybe in a previous era, Simmons could have been something between Magic Johnson and Grant Hill (though with better defense than either). But in this era, his unusual combination of skills are just too hard to leverage without shooting ability. Ingram isn't particularly rare or unusual, but he's very good in a way that will fit into any team offense. It's a shame--if Simmons could shoot, he could have been his own sort of unicorn and maybe someone who could have challenged Antetokounmpo as the best player in the NBA or, at least, been a top-five player in the league.
I will say this for Simmons. The Sixers sucked and got Embiid and were better, yes, but still sucked. Then Simmons joined the team and they were an instant playoff team that reached the second round. They won the last 16 games of that season with Embiid not playing for most of them (eye injury). Also- last year, there was a game against the Brooklyn Nets that Embiid missed and Simmons went OFF. https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201904180BRK.html If you surround Simmons with shooters like Ilyasova/Belinelli or Redick/Harris, you will win a lot of games, even without Embiid. Maybe especially without Embiid.
Which is probably why the Sixers will not trade Simmons. Unless you're offering Luka Doncic, you can probably not bother asking.
It's true he is of course a better shooter than Ben, but until this season that he completely transformed it shooting was by far the biggest hole in Ingram's game.
Got it! Trade Simmons for D'Angelo Russell and the T-Wolves' pick in this year's draft. The Sixers' team defense can survive Russells' inadequacies (unlike Minny). Meanwhile KAT-Simmons and Russell-Embiid are pairings that complement each other much better than their current pairings. Also Russell is a very good clutch player, something that's wasted in Minny, and has the right kind of attitude to survive the Philly fans.
