Here's some disappointing news from Fentress: However, one major problem here is that Simmons has reportedly said he does not want to play in Portland. That would be a huge turn off for the Blazers. The last thing they’d want to do is trade Lillard for a potential headache. However, I’ve been told by some within the Blazers organization that they are not sure how well Simmons and Lillard would fit together. Simmons wants to play the Magic Johnson role, which requires having the ball in his hands. Well, that’s Lillard’s job. I could see Lillard playing off the ball more often but in the end, it’s his team and he will want the ball the majority of the time. That would force Simmons to play a role he isn’t used to.
Yeah we hashed that earlier and decided its a smokescreen or very poor thinking and likely the former to twist Morey’s arm.
it's not. it's from Fentress who is talking to the blazers org. literally says it in the sentences i bolded
I’m talking about the first part. Simmons reportedly not wanting to come to Portland. The second part comes from within the organization.
For all the (often testy) back-and-forth on this situation, it seems to me that one big question has gone unanswered. If Simmons was that upset over what Doc and/or Embiid said, why didn't he sit down with them behind closed doors and try to talk it out? It's not like he had anything to lose. Why go straight to public melt-down mode? I know some folks hate to hear this, but his reaction seems over-the-top. He turned a minor dispute (that would already be forgotten) into the soap opera of the off season. How do any of us know how he will react the next time somebody is critical of his play? Why are some of you so convinced that he will never pull something like this again? If he can't handle criticism from Doc, why would he react differently to a rookie coach like Billups? IMHO, that - not a bad play-off series - is the real hang-up.
It was Doc & Joel who publicly threw him under the bus with their comments. There's really no recovering from that. Ben's reaction can be seen as being a bit childish, but I don't blame him for demanding a trade one bit.
The 2nd piece on a championship team had to be a guy who can play off your #1. Simmons isn't good enough as the #1 and isn't complimentary enough as the #2. It's the same reason why Westbrook and Derozan struggle in the playoffs. You also can't get by in the playoffs with only one player on the roster who can create their own shot off the dribble at a high-level. The dude folds when it matters most, might not want to be here, and has shown zero improvement offensively since entering the league. People have fallen in love with the idea of Ben Simmons, not who he actually is. If you trade for him, you have to trade Nurkic to make it work and he has far less value on the trade market than he would to our team next year without Simmons. There's so many reasons why this won't work, and I've only heard one legitimate reason for it. That's not enough to offset all of this. Simmons is not the answer.
Fellas I feel sorry for your guys typing up your love for Simmons, how he fits for Portland and etc..you’re wasting time he isn’t coming to Portland and it’s a great thing, keep Simmons away! I love how guys talk about his defense, I don’t care what anyways says his offensive warts far out way his D, esp when he needs the ball in his hands 24-7. Here with Dame, imagine Simmons standing in the corner for a 3 or waiting to take a jump shot when Dame gets doubled…or what, Simmons doesn’t do those things other than dunk lol.
I disagree that Doc threw him under the bus. All he did was acknowledge the elephant in the room - that there are questions over Simmons best position. IMHO Simmons reaction was immature and thin-skinned. Embiid, OTOH, was kind of a douche and owes Simmons a public apology.
Here's another question. If Simmons gets traded to a team that wants him to play something other than PG, how will he react? His response to Doc's rather mild comments on the subject makes me worry that he will have another melt-down.
One player can shoot. One player cannot. One player provides spacing, one player does not. It’s not just about “taking the ball out of Dame’s hands”. It’s once you put it in Dame hands, what happens to the rest of the team. With Simmons, you take away his greatest strength and arguably the only good thing he does offensively is with the ball in his hands. Off the ball, he is a mess. Destroys spacing. Will clog the lane. Then to accommodate him, you’ll move Dame off the ball (for some time) and turn him into a spot up shooter which minimizes his greatest strengths. Meanwhile with CJ, you don’t have to worry about spacing. Or the lane being clogged. Or if he will shoot. So while you produced a bunch of numbers about how much they both touch the ball, none of them show how each player would a) react in our offense and b) how each player affects our offense, especially spacing wise, WHICH IS A KNOWN MASSIVE ISSUE FOR THE 76ers, particularly with Embiid and Simmons. further, you chop of my quote where it says “more than a few people question the fit.” So, once again I ask… LONG before this quote came out. Many people questioned the fit. Taking the ball out of Dame’s hands AND how it ruins the spacing of our offense AND refusal to shoot AND apparently lazy (and his bitchy attitude too but that’s not basketball related.) How is this Olshey spinning when these concerns were brought up *months* ago? And the bolded just isn’t true based on what I said. “Fit” isn’t just about who has the ball. Fit is about spacing. Fit is about what happens when your best players play with each other — something the 76ers are learning about. Do they fit? Can they play together? Are they synergistic? It’s not just about how many dribbles or how many seconds they touch the ball. When Dame is doubled by Simmons guy, he will use him as an outlet and instead of taking a wide open 3 he’s gonna ram it inside straight into Nurkic guy allowing one defender to guard both of them. This also shortens ALL defensive rotations since everyone knows Simmons won’t shoot a 3. Easier to recover and help in the paint. Just so many examples and issues I don’t know where to begin. meanwhile, hate him or love him, CJ is finding a way to take the open 3. BuT cJ dRibBleZ mOrE aNd PaSsEs LeSs. Who gives a fuck. One player fits and the other doesn’t. And unless you’ve got the BBIQ of a fish, it’s pretty easy to see which player fits and which is a round peg in a square hole. (Unless Nurk is traded.) of course, I also say in that other thread I’m open to the trade solely for something new. It’s just ridiculous you think Olshey is plotting in his Scrooge McDuck cave how to leak info so it looks like he is covering his ass for when CJ isn’t traded when it’s been covered in depth why there may be reservations. In fact, you have people like BJ wanting Siakam instead. And a bunch of 3 way trades. Wonder why that is. maybe, just maybe, Olshey and the blazers management think like some of us do. Simmons won’t do shit for us and may actually cause more issues. But because you disagree with Olshey, all you do is bitch about what he is or is not doing by creating narratives in your own head. Like I said, confirmation bias, we know you hate him.
Damn bro, you don't live in reality.... ONE damn game doesn't mean shit. Like where was that Ben Simmons when it mattered most? A-F-R-A-I-D to go to the free throw line...
Now you're moving goalposts. Before, that was some bullshit. Before, it was a Bay Area reporter making shit up. Now you're changing your tune and saying "who cares"... Nothing in the link you provided negates this:
One caveat that really sums it up: This was the Stotts coached CJ who was NOT held accountable by his coach and not coached to play smart defense. His coach left him on islands with no gap or help line defense. I'd rather see CJ with a new coach than trade for a malcontent who's afraid to go to the line and wants to play in California...
Yeah, we disagree here. The biggest problem with LOTS of people's arguments is that THEY WERE COACHED BY STOTTS...
ill go on record snd say Dviss is one of the most upstanding people in here. And im making this statement based on interactions outside of here. Curt and abrasive at times? Sure. Who, with passion, isnt at times? There are several people i have mad respect for here. Dviss is right near the top of that list.
Personally don’t care where Simmons wants to play trade for him and he’ll fall in love with the city that will love him like no other. Not to many players who come here don’t like playing/living here
