with the emergence of Gary Trent jr it could finally be the moment to pull the trigger on a trade that balance out our roster. I think Ben Simmons would be the perfect fit for our roster. A wing (our biggest weakness) that can handle the ball and defend multiple positions. Just imagine the pick&roll Simmons/Nurkic with Lillard/Trent/Ariza spacing the floor. We could actually win games with DEFENSE having 4 defenders like Trent, Ariza, Simmons and Nurkic. I think Simmons is the only star who could be on the market and that complement our roster. Obviously the piece in return would be CJ who would actually complement Embiid. What do you guys think? is it realistic?
no, a jayson tatum tho? yes. Simmons just wont complement Dame. The way dame scores i think we can afford to have a bigger SG who is a great on the ball defender and do a bit of everything. It may be Trent?
I don't think he's an ideal fit. Dame is the best pick and roll guard in the league. Nurk is just a better pairing for Dame due to his size. We'd have the same problem the Sixers have--what do you do with Simmons when the play isn't for him? I guess you put him on the weak side post, but that clogs a lot of the action up. I still think he's a better fit than CJ, though. Dame creates all kind of spacing with his ridiculous range, which makes up for some of Simmons' shooting limitations. Meanwhile, Simmons impacts all other aspects of the game while CJ just doesn't. If CJ isn't scoring, he's just not worth putting out there. We needed CJ's shot making more before Trent emerged. Gary Trent is just a better fit in Portland as a starting shooting guard. People keep bringing up Wes Matthews, which I get, but he's really in position to play a poor man's Klay Thompson on this team. Give him the harder guard defensive assignment every night and let him collect buckets off Dame's creation. Seems like there are lots of examples of championship caliber teams with a Curry/Klay dynamic than a Dame/CJ dynamic. You just need a big guard who can defend. There's also a loooong track record in Portland over the past 7-8 years of guys getting much, much better at perimeter shooting. I don't know if it's the coaching or just being around Dame/CJ, but so many guys have had career three point shooting years here. I think you roll the dice on Simmons with some of that baked into the calculation. That said, I wouldn't be averse to other options as well. CJ is our most valuable trade piece, and we really should've dealt him a few years ago.
If we trade CJ I'd rather focus on bringing in a perfect fit. For that price, Simmons isn't worth it for us, strangely enough. I dont think he makes us better - see how Melo has been forced to develop a better outside shot and focus less on midrange since we got him? Now hes a great fit. Simmons has shown zero development since his rookie year - Im not sure if it was here that domeone said that he's basically a better Rubio. I'd much rather focus on shuffling some minor pieces. I like the Bjelica idea someone posted earlier this week - he'd be a good fit. I like Marvin Williams as well. Meanwhile, the Hawks MIGHT need to consider a John Collins trade. They probably aren't going to resign him this summer and next summer they probably will have a hard time matching his offers. Collins would be the type of player I'd trade a CJ for. Contract wise it might be hard to make the numbers work - the only option I see would be CJ plus Ant for John Collins, Dedmon and the right to overpay Capela. I dont think either side is interested in that one. Edit: come to think of it, Collins has been horrible at defense. It wouldnt really help us that much.
I like the idea, but I don't see why Atlanta would be excited to pair CJ with Trae. Seems like a really bad fit. I don't see CJ really being happy as a second banana to another pg either. CJ is really at the point in his career where if you are trading him away from Dame, he's going to want to run the back court.
How do you all think Dame would feel about all this trade CJ stuff during a run. Would anyone in here really suggest this to Dame in person? no way
Simmons is an elite defender who can guard both forward positions. Look at some of the the top players in the league in the next 5 yrs: Kawhi/Giannis/George/Luka/Zion/Tatum/Durant, and of course Lebron. We have NO ONE who can even hope to guard these guys. The biggest competition for Dame will be these guys, not Steph et al. Simmons is also an elite passer on offense, while also being able to contribute in the dunker spot. Surround him, Dame, Nurk with shooters and you've got a potent offensive lineup, but so much versatility, size, and strength on defense. We have the template for a guard-led title team from GS in 2015-17. Elite shooting, fast pace, and super-switchability on defense. Simmons just facilitates that better than any other player in the league (sans shooting obviously) I believe. I've long said I'd give up anyone and everyone not named Dame or Nurk to land Simmons. That point remains even with his injury history. The potential ceiling is just too high
Ironically, the real Rubio has adapted perfectly and is shooting great from three and playing off the ball well with Booker.
There's only a hand full of teams who have players eho can check these (heck most of the names here can't check the others) and the players who check them best are quite often not as highly touted. As opposed to being an elite passer on defense? The WHAT spot? We have tried playing a non shooter (and they were much better shooters than Simmons) at SF and PF who could defend really well before and we've moved away from that. Teams don't do well if they have too many either/or players. Ben Simmons is too limited. Chasing outliers in basketball never works well. GSW is the perfect storm and even then, they're stuck in luxury tax hell for the next x years.
This is really shortsighted thinking if you're gonna compare Simmons and his creating ability to Moe/Aminu by just because they all aren't shooters. Out entire offensive attack would change with Simmons. Adding him to Dame/Nurk wouldn't just slot him into the roles that our previous guys had.
Having two non shooters out there in crunch time is just not viable IMO. I'd rather have the ball in Dame's hands in crunch time than Simmons, and I don't want Simmons and Nurkic shrinking the court.
Basically we saw the effect with Evan Turner. He's a really good passer, defender really well too and even was able to hit that midrange quite well. Still, too limited in this modern game, unless you have a great shooter at the other positions.
Trent isn't playing any minutes at SG but fans think he can play exclusively there in place of CJ? Stotts is playing Simons all minutes when one of DameCJ sit. There needs to be two ball handlers on the court at all times or opponents will trap the hell out of Dame. Trent is a SF.
Noticed that I'm ignoring you? I addressed your nonsense before. I'm explaining that players which fit a certain profile haven't helped us over the hump. We need more diverse strengths. Go spot some dunkers for the 'dunk role'. Atta boy.