Simmons Prediction Thread

[mrhockey89]

I can't get a good reason on when Simmons will be traded or to whom, but I do think it will happen because he's willing to hold out and isn't willing to meet his own teammates to mend things.

With that said, I think the Wolves would be smart to trade for Simmons, and here's why...

1. Ant is already breaking out and is in year 2 of his rookie contract. Much like the Thunder in the early days of Durant/Harden/Westbrook/Ibaka, the Wolves have an OPPORTUNITY to get more high level players under the cap while one is on a rookie contract. That's huge and represents a window of opportunity.
2. Age: Simmons fits the young age of our stars
3. Fit: Simmons appears to be a great fit with our roster.
4. Free Throws: The way people talk about him these days is like he can't hit a FT to save his life. We don't need him to hit 3's or even mid range shots. We need him at the rim and to improve his FT% from about 60-61% to 65-75%, which is reasonable. Even if he does have playoff nerves, experience will offset those over time.
6. He's elite. Let's face it, he's probably the best player on our team the moment he sets foot on the court.
7. If things don't work out and we decide to trade some/all of the big names, we'll get a boatload in return. Try these guys together for 3 years and if it doesn't work, that would put Towns, Simmons, and Russell all at age 28, and Ant at 23. Every one of them would pull a haul in return at those ages. We aren't overpaying in their prime then selling after their prime. We'd be able to buy and sell in their prime, and decide which pieces fit and which don't. For this point alone I would pull the trade, even if it meant Jaden, Beasley, and 4 draft picks (at least top 3-5 protected). IF the Wolves end up being a contender with this core, we will then be able to get good role players cheap.

And to those worried about Simmon's playoff performance, consider this... KAT didn't exactly blow up in the playoffs in the one year we did get there. The reason we even have an opportunity to obtain him at all is because of a bad playoffs. Additionally, for us to be caring about playoff performance levels seems silly as a Wolves fan... any of us would be ecstatic to see the Wolves even make the playoffs, much less be the #1 seed like the 76ers were with Simmons as one of their 2 best players.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I can't get a good reason on when Simmons will be traded or to whom, but I do think it will happen because he's willing to hold out and isn't willing to meet his own teammates to mend things.

With that said, I think the Wolves would be smart to trade for Simmons, and here's why...

1. Ant is already breaking out and is in year 2 of his rookie contract. Much like the Thunder in the early days of Durant/Harden/Westbrook/Ibaka, the Wolves have an OPPORTUNITY to get more high level players under the cap while one is on a rookie contract. That's huge and represents a window of opportunity.
2. Age: Simmons fits the young age of our stars
3. Fit: Simmons appears to be a great fit with our roster.
4. Free Throws: The way people talk about him these days is like he can't hit a FT to save his life. We don't need him to hit 3's or even mid range shots. We need him at the rim and to improve his FT% from about 60-61% to 65-75%, which is reasonable. Even if he does have playoff nerves, experience will offset those over time.
6. He's elite. Let's face it, he's probably the best player on our team the moment he sets foot on the court.
7. If things don't work out and we decide to trade some/all of the big names, we'll get a boatload in return. Try these guys together for 3 years and if it doesn't work, that would put Towns, Simmons, and Russell all at age 28, and Ant at 23. Every one of them would pull a haul in return at those ages. We aren't overpaying in their prime then selling after their prime. We'd be able to buy and sell in their prime, and decide which pieces fit and which don't. For this point alone I would pull the trade, even if it meant Jaden, Beasley, and 4 draft picks (at least top 3-5 protected). IF the Wolves end up being a contender with this core, we will then be able to get good role players cheap.

And to those worried about Simmon's playoff performance, consider this... KAT didn't exactly blow up in the playoffs in the one year we did get there. The reason we even have an opportunity to obtain him at all is because of a bad playoffs. Additionally, for us to be caring about playoff performance levels seems silly as a Wolves fan... any of us would be ecstatic to see the Wolves even make the playoffs, much less be the #1 seed like the 76ers were with Simmons as one of their 2 best players.

Don't disagree with your points here in general Hockey. I think the one that may become a bit more iffy is #3 - fit - if both DLO and Beasley are part of the trade. Now suddenly it becomes hard to field a 5-man squad with enough good shooting to open things up for KAT and Edwards. The defense would certainly improve.

[FNG]

I can't get a good reason on when Simmons will be traded or to whom, but I do think it will happen because he's willing to hold out and isn't willing to meet his own teammates to mend things.

With that said, I think the Wolves would be smart to trade for Simmons, and here's why...

1. Ant is already breaking out and is in year 2 of his rookie contract. Much like the Thunder in the early days of Durant/Harden/Westbrook/Ibaka, the Wolves have an OPPORTUNITY to get more high level players under the cap while one is on a rookie contract. That's huge and represents a window of opportunity.
2. Age: Simmons fits the young age of our stars
3. Fit: Simmons appears to be a great fit with our roster.
4. Free Throws: The way people talk about him these days is like he can't hit a FT to save his life. We don't need him to hit 3's or even mid range shots. We need him at the rim and to improve his FT% from about 60-61% to 65-75%, which is reasonable. Even if he does have playoff nerves, experience will offset those over time.
6. He's elite. Let's face it, he's probably the best player on our team the moment he sets foot on the court.
7. If things don't work out and we decide to trade some/all of the big names, we'll get a boatload in return. Try these guys together for 3 years and if it doesn't work, that would put Towns, Simmons, and Russell all at age 28, and Ant at 23. Every one of them would pull a haul in return at those ages. We aren't overpaying in their prime then selling after their prime. We'd be able to buy and sell in their prime, and decide which pieces fit and which don't. For this point alone I would pull the trade, even if it meant Jaden, Beasley, and 4 draft picks (at least top 3-5 protected). IF the Wolves end up being a contender with this core, we will then be able to get good role players cheap.

And to those worried about Simmon's playoff performance, consider this... KAT didn't exactly blow up in the playoffs in the one year we did get there. The reason we even have an opportunity to obtain him at all is because of a bad playoffs. Additionally, for us to be caring about playoff performance levels seems silly as a Wolves fan... any of us would be ecstatic to see the Wolves even make the playoffs, much less be the #1 seed like the 76ers were with Simmons as one of their 2 best players.

Don't disagree with your points here in general Hockey. I think the one that may become a bit more iffy is #3 - fit - if both DLO and Beasley are part of the trade. Now suddenly it becomes hard to field a 5-man squad with enough good shooting to open things up for KAT and Edwards. The defense would certainly improve.

I like Hockey's list a lot, and even like point 3, Q. Yeah, Beasley has proven to be a very good 3-point shooter (although we don't know how good he will be after wearing an orange jumpsuit most of the offseason), and DLO had a very good 3-point shooting last year too...they will not be easy to replace beyond the arc. But as I've posted before, Simmons would still have some terrific 3-point shooters in the starting lineup with him:

Beverley: 39.7%
KAT: 38.7%
McD: 36.4%

Ant was below average at 33%, but most here are confident after his improved second half that he will be a very good 3-point shooter. Sprinkle in Prince (40%) and Naz (35.1%), and Simmons will have 6 nice 3-point targets. And make it 7 if Eyechart can live up to the potential he showed in college and G League. Sure, he'll also have Vando and Josh out there at times, but he also had poor shooting Thybulle and Maxet next to him last year a lot too.

If we are lucky enough to swap DLO and Beas for Simmons, I'm not worried at all about how our offense would perform. And as Q says, obviously our defense would be much improved.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I can't get a good reason on when Simmons will be traded or to whom, but I do think it will happen because he's willing to hold out and isn't willing to meet his own teammates to mend things.

With that said, I think the Wolves would be smart to trade for Simmons, and here's why...

1. Ant is already breaking out and is in year 2 of his rookie contract. Much like the Thunder in the early days of Durant/Harden/Westbrook/Ibaka, the Wolves have an OPPORTUNITY to get more high level players under the cap while one is on a rookie contract. That's huge and represents a window of opportunity.
2. Age: Simmons fits the young age of our stars
3. Fit: Simmons appears to be a great fit with our roster.
4. Free Throws: The way people talk about him these days is like he can't hit a FT to save his life. We don't need him to hit 3's or even mid range shots. We need him at the rim and to improve his FT% from about 60-61% to 65-75%, which is reasonable. Even if he does have playoff nerves, experience will offset those over time.
6. He's elite. Let's face it, he's probably the best player on our team the moment he sets foot on the court.
7. If things don't work out and we decide to trade some/all of the big names, we'll get a boatload in return. Try these guys together for 3 years and if it doesn't work, that would put Towns, Simmons, and Russell all at age 28, and Ant at 23. Every one of them would pull a haul in return at those ages. We aren't overpaying in their prime then selling after their prime. We'd be able to buy and sell in their prime, and decide which pieces fit and which don't. For this point alone I would pull the trade, even if it meant Jaden, Beasley, and 4 draft picks (at least top 3-5 protected). IF the Wolves end up being a contender with this core, we will then be able to get good role players cheap.

And to those worried about Simmon's playoff performance, consider this... KAT didn't exactly blow up in the playoffs in the one year we did get there. The reason we even have an opportunity to obtain him at all is because of a bad playoffs. Additionally, for us to be caring about playoff performance levels seems silly as a Wolves fan... any of us would be ecstatic to see the Wolves even make the playoffs, much less be the #1 seed like the 76ers were with Simmons as one of their 2 best players.

Don't disagree with your points here in general Hockey. I think the one that may become a bit more iffy is #3 - fit - if both DLO and Beasley are part of the trade. Now suddenly it becomes hard to field a 5-man squad with enough good shooting to open things up for KAT and Edwards. The defense would certainly improve.

I like Hockey's list a lot, and even like point 3, Q. Yeah, Beasley has proven to be a very good 3-point shooter (although we don't know how good he will be after wearing an orange jumpsuit most of the offseason), and DLO had a very good 3-point shooting last year too...they will not be easy to replace beyond the arc. But as I've posted before, Simmons would still have some terrific 3-point shooters in the starting lineup with him:

Beverley: 39.7%
KAT: 38.7%
McD: 36.4%

Ant was below average at 33%, but most here are confident after his improved second half that he will be a very good 3-point shooter. Sprinkle in Prince (40%) and Naz (35.1%), and Simmons will have 6 nice 3-point targets. And make it 7 if Eyechart can live up to the potential he showed in college and G League. Sure, he'll also have Vando and Josh out there at times, but he also had poor shooting Thybulle and Maxet next to him last year a lot too.

If we are lucky enough to swap DLO and Beas for Simmons, I'm not worried at all about how our offense would perform. And as Q says, obviously our defense would be much improved.

But the only guy above that truly strikes fear in defenses is KAT. You can't just look at percentages, but also volume. Beasley is legit a top 15 3-point sniper when you look at his combination of volume and accuracy. A defense simply cannot cheat off him, while guys like Bev and McD you have a bit more room for error.

I think I'd probably still make the trade if it was both DLO and Beas, but it really would set our shooting back a lot. I'd count on us being a top 15 defense and then just hope and pray that guys like Nowell and McLaughlin could step up and be more consistent from beyond the arc.

[FNG]

Let's just say media day ain't going too well in Philly.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/76ers-doc-rivers-snaps-at-reporter-over-ben-simmons-question/

I wonder how Embiid is enjoying the first scrimmage today with Maxey running the point.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Let's just say media day ain't going too well in Philly.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/76ers-doc-rivers-snaps-at-reporter-over-ben-simmons-question/

I wonder how Embiid is enjoying the first scrimmage today with Maxey running the point.

Oh, how delicious and delectable it is to see Philly wallowing in a mess of their own making! And I live here!

[Monster]

Let's just say media day ain't going too well in Philly.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/76ers-doc-rivers-snaps-at-reporter-over-ben-simmons-question/

I wonder how Embiid is enjoying the first scrimmage today with Maxey running the point.

Oh, how delicious and delectable it is to see Philly wallowing in a mess of their own making! And I live here!

Doc seems to be in a cheery mood.

Q being there in Philly what is your sense of the situation from whatever perspective you have being there locally?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Let's just say media day ain't going too well in Philly.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/76ers-doc-rivers-snaps-at-reporter-over-ben-simmons-question/

I wonder how Embiid is enjoying the first scrimmage today with Maxey running the point.

Oh, how delicious and delectable it is to see Philly wallowing in a mess of their own making! And I live here!

Doc seems to be in a cheery mood.

Q being there in Philly what is your sense of the situation from whatever perspective you have being there locally?

I honestly don't follow Philly sports that much even though I've lived out here for 15+ years now. And now that I hardly ever commute due to work-from-home because of the virus, I rarely get an opportunity to tune into local sports talk on the radio. Most of those guys are annoying anyway....

[Monster]

Let's just say media day ain't going too well in Philly.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/76ers-doc-rivers-snaps-at-reporter-over-ben-simmons-question/

I wonder how Embiid is enjoying the first scrimmage today with Maxey running the point.

Oh, how delicious and delectable it is to see Philly wallowing in a mess of their own making! And I live here!

Doc seems to be in a cheery mood.

Q being there in Philly what is your sense of the situation from whatever perspective you have being there locally?

I honestly don't follow Philly sports that much even though I've lived out here for 15+ years now. And now that I hardly ever commute due to work-from-home because of the virus, I rarely get an opportunity to tune into local sports talk on the radio. Most of those guys are annoying anyway....

In my previous job I drove a lot and did listen to some sports radio. I don't really miss it although the local guy I listened to the most seems like a really great dude. I do miss listening to audio books and some podcasts. I miss listening to the radio with the new music that comes out.

[Lipoli390]

Let's just say media day ain't going too well in Philly.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/76ers-doc-rivers-snaps-at-reporter-over-ben-simmons-question/

I wonder how Embiid is enjoying the first scrimmage today with Maxey running the point.

Lol. Your post calls to mind something that's been bugging me - i.e., the media infatuation with Maxey. I like him as a player, but his stats last season were not impressive even for a rookie. I liked his effort, but I didn't see anything in his play that wowed me in the least. No doubt that, for sake of leverage in negotiations for Simmons, the Sixers organization would like NBA front office executives to believe they're excited about Maxey. But there is absolutely no way the Sixers will trust their PG position to Tyrese Maxey unless they've decided to throw in the towel on this season and that's highly, highly unlikely. All the more reason to assume that the Sixers won't agree to any Simmons deal that doesn't land them a high-quality lead guard - VanVleet, Brogdon, DLO or perhaps a younger guy like Sexton of Haliburton who both look far better than Maxey.