Would Ben Simmons be the last piece of our puzzle?

Timing is gonna be tricky, especially with the Powell signing pending. It's important to sell him on staying whether or not we actually execute the CJ-Simmons swap.

But I would bet anything that Morey lets this fester a bit so more teams can forget this playoff series a bit and talk themselves into Simmons. He has no incentive to trade BS at his lowest value.

 

Trade makes sense to the national media:
https://www.si.com/nba/video/2021/06/21/crossover-simmons-embiid-philadelphia-future

 

If I'm Philly, I won't be able to get Beal, and I don't want Westbrook.
I also don't want Derozan.

CJ trade looking better all the time.

 

More notes (mostly for my own benefit):
Embiid and his coach threw Simmons under the bus.
Philly doesn't have a lot of interesting alternatives, but Morey is definitely very creative.

 

Lowe had Bobby Marks on his podcast today. Basically said:

Philly is going to sit on this for awhile because the more time passes the more other teams will talk themselves into Simmons. They're most likely going to get a pretty good return for him. (Or at least better than the current takes) Every team is trying to buy low on Simmons right now.

I agree with that. Even if you look at CJ the chatter was a lot worse when we just got eliminated. Eventually people talk themselves back into CJ's strenghts. I still think it's going to cost more than just a straight CJ swap.

 

You absolutely go after Ben Simmons if you're Portland. There's a reason Simmons is available, just like there was a reason Butler was available a couple of years ago, and Kawhi the summer of 2018. If superstars were perfect, or had no flaws, their team wouldn't even listen to offers. Acquiring a star in their prime comes with risk. Risk is something Neil Olshey has been allergic to during his nine-year tenure in Portland. I think that any team that adds Simmons this summer is going to reap the rewards. Ben is the type of player that needs a change of scenery in the worst way. Factor in playing alongside a lead guard like Lillard, and I think we're going to see Simmons return to dominance.

At the bare minimum, with no other moves, Dame/Norm/RoCo/Simmons/Nurk is elite defensively and already much more balanced than what we have now.

 

The difference is that to realize the benefit of Simmons on your team you need him to handle the ball quite a bit. That invites the defense to the Hack-A-Ben tactic.

 

Ghas right, you dont want him playing PG we have one of those already, he's pretty decent. He need to play in the low/high post where if they do foul him maybe it would be an and 1 situation. He would be beneficial rolling and offensive rebounding.

 

He already is a monster.

People used to say about prime Jason Kidd that he could massively impact a game without scoring a point. Well, Simmons is doing his damn best to prove it. Simmons didn't lose that series against the Hawks.

 

Yeah but he came pretty damn close

 

How come you took the "D" off Draymond when that's literally his strongest point?
But re: personality. I think one of Draymond's great strengths is that he's a talker on defense. He doesn't just play defense himself, he holds everyone accountable. He's the opposite of Mr Stolid Simmons in that respect.

 

Happier times:

 

Blazers top every betting site for Ben

 

76ers best player Embiid packs the inside. On the Blazers our best player pulls the defense outside. This is crucial to Simmons having easier trips inside and a chance to build confidence. Dame is a killa personally but he instills confidence in most of the players who surround him.

I think it's a no-brainer to trade CJ for Simmons if that's on the table, but the coaching choice becomes even more important. Simmons is currently on a team where coaching staff haven't forced change. If the trade happens, Blazers need a coach 1) is creative enough to put Simmons is good situations to excel and 2) is tough enough to demand more from Simmons and bench him for half a season if that's what it takes. Leave the confidence building to Dame and let Simmons know a lot is expected and anything less will not be allowed. Simmons should be required to shoot 4 times per quarter or be pulled for the remainder of the game till he understands the expectation is to try, not to be perfect.

But, I think with his amazing D, court vision and passing, the risk is warranted. What a world of different the D could be with Nurk back, Norm on the team, Zach returning and Simmons.

Normal starting lineup:
Dame
Norm
Simmons
Covington
Nurk

Small Ball lineup
Dame
Anfernee Simons
Norm
Simmons
RoCo

Big ass lineup
Simmons
Dame
Little
Collins
Nurk

Who knows about Melo or Kanter, but seems like at least Kanter might also be good next to simmons in some lineups.

I doubt it actually happens because in the end, I think Simmons will command a bigger haul than CJ.

 

That worries me. It never seems like our trades are made with any advanced discussion. This will drag out until
the draft.

 

This only is getting that kind of treatment because it's a former No. 1 overall pick who's fallen out of favor in a major market.

The big issue isn't people knowing this is a trade that makes some sense for both teams. It's that there are teams out there that have more trade assets than the Blazers to get Simmons.

 

His value went down like CocaCola but Blazers would probably have to hire Tim Grover full time to make him playable at this moment.
Half of this forum is angry about Nurk not dunking. For few years now we lack enforcer, bad boy on the court and now we want to bring 610 guy that afraid to dunk over PG?
Ben Simon's career could be on a edge now. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes Bison Dele this summer.

 

He couldn’t have lost the series. He wasn’t playing in crunch time.

 

Really interesting topic. I also think that it would be a win-win situation to get Simmons. But would it be the last piece of our puzzle? I am unsure. He has so much potential/is a great player but if you just look at his 4th quarter performances and that he refuses to shoot (sometimes) I really do not know if it would be enoug.
I mean sure, they should do everything to improve the team but should not give away any valuable assets (as some people mentioned Simmons trade value should not be too high at the moment).

 

I wonder if Morey will try to trade Ben to the west. Doesn't Miami have a bunch of cap space? But would Morey really help them?