Minnesota Sports Forum

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Lillard declared that he's staying in Portland for this coming season. He declared that Rip City is his city and posted an image of Lillard giving high-fives to various fans.

"Back for more..." Lillard wrote. "#RipCity is my city."

Here are some cold hard truths for Daryl Morey:

1. As further clarified in the Windhorst video, Simmons isn't interested in helping Philly improve his trade value. He just wants out of Philly and how much Philly gets in return doesn't interest him. Moreover, he's pissed at the organization for negative comments about him as well as the effort to trade him for Harden a year ago.

2. Interestingly, according to Windhorst, Simmons will be paid half of his $33M October 1 of this years. That means he'll be paid $16.5M before training camp begins. So he has a war chest that will make it really easy for him to hold out until Philly trades him.

3. As further confirmed by Lillard's Instagram message earlier today, he's staying in Portland. Neither Beal nor Lillard have any interest in leaving their respective teams and clearly neither team has any interest in trading them.

4. The market for Simmons remains ice cold with the Kings apparently still unwilling to include Fox or even Haliburton in any package for Simmons.

Of course, the market for Simmons could improve, but I really don't see any foreseeable catalyst for any significant increase in his market value. Morey might want to keep Simmons beyond the start of the season in the hope that he'll eventually get the return he wants, but I can think of 16.5 million reasons why that would be a ridiculous move by Morey and, therefore, highly unlikely. Once Philly deposits that $16.5M in Simmons' bank account on Oct. 1, he can comfortably sit back in the confines of his living room with his hot girlfriend on the sofa net to him and wait for a trade. There is absolutely no reason for him to show up to training camp or play for the Sixers. And his agent, known for playing hard ball, will clearly advise him to sit out.

lipoli390 wrote:

FNG wrote:

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:I saw people freaking out today because the Wolves had a team picture with the team, coaches, front offices and new owners Lore and Arod.

2 people not in the picture. Prince and ANT!!!!

Darren Wolfson: "Ant has some off-the-court stuff to square away this week, so won't be making it to Miami. He will be joining the team for workouts next week."

Some may scoff at this, but it sets off a few warning signals in my head. What off-court stuff does he have to take care of that couldn't been taken care of last week? Maybe it's nothing, but I've been a student of elite athlete behavior for decades, and this sounds familiar to me. I'm on record that Ant is a unique talent, and the only thing that can stop him is Ant himself. I hope he doesn't let it.

In other news, ARod's house in Maimi looks just like mine...

Wow, FNG. I think you're reading way, way, way too much into this news about Ant "squaring away" some off-the-court stuff this week.

Maybe. But something's telling me I've seen this movie before.

FNG wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

FNG wrote:

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:I saw people freaking out today because the Wolves had a team picture with the team, coaches, front offices and new owners Lore and Arod.

2 people not in the picture. Prince and ANT!!!!

Darren Wolfson: "Ant has some off-the-court stuff to square away this week, so won't be making it to Miami. He will be joining the team for workouts next week."

Some may scoff at this, but it sets off a few warning signals in my head. What off-court stuff does he have to take care of that couldn't been taken care of last week? Maybe it's nothing, but I've been a student of elite athlete behavior for decades, and this sounds familiar to me. I'm on record that Ant is a unique talent, and the only thing that can stop him is Ant himself. I hope he doesn't let it.

In other news, ARod's house in Maimi looks just like mine...

Wow, FNG. I think you're reading way, way, way too much into this news about Ant "squaring away" some off-the-court stuff this week.

Maybe. But something's telling me I've seen this movie before.

FNG - You're watching too many movies. I stick to cartoons. :)

lipoli390 wrote:

FNG wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

FNG wrote:

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:I saw people freaking out today because the Wolves had a team picture with the team, coaches, front offices and new owners Lore and Arod.

2 people not in the picture. Prince and ANT!!!!

Darren Wolfson: "Ant has some off-the-court stuff to square away this week, so won't be making it to Miami. He will be joining the team for workouts next week."

Some may scoff at this, but it sets off a few warning signals in my head. What off-court stuff does he have to take care of that couldn't been taken care of last week? Maybe it's nothing, but I've been a student of elite athlete behavior for decades, and this sounds familiar to me. I'm on record that Ant is a unique talent, and the only thing that can stop him is Ant himself. I hope he doesn't let it.

In other news, ARod's house in Maimi looks just like mine...

Wow, FNG. I think you're reading way, way, way too much into this news about Ant "squaring away" some off-the-court stuff this week.

Maybe. But something's telling me I've seen this movie before.

FNG - You're watching too many movies. I stick to cartoons. :)

Ha, good advice!

Simmons has some serious work ethic issues off the court. I have heard he doesn't take to coaching well also. Does not work on his game in the offseasons. He plays off his athletic gifts but by no means is a hard worker. Which is odd considering usually you equate a lot of defense with effort.

I worry that we are too optimistic on this deal. Let's not forget that there is a reason he is there. What's also not to say he pulls the same thing here if he doesn't like it here. Hopefully that's not the case with his friends here. That's probably just the whole being a lifelong wolves fan wondering what we mess up next.

Also I am really surprised on the angst of losing Dlo possibly. My big concern is that I want to see the ball in Towns and Ants hands. Like was said earlier trading dlo helps really balance the team. His defense is atrocious. He's on a max deal.

Cam I know you love you some dlo but let's say with Dlo you can save Jaden and maybe a 1st. You would put more value on Dlo getting paid his 30 mil than Jaden on a rookie deal and saving a 1st?

Also Dlo Edwards Prince Simmons Towns

Or Beverly Edwards Jaden Simmons Towns along with some more flexibility and saving whatever draft capital we could. I feel the second team has much brighter future and it would be nice to see a team that could defend.

On the flip side if Philly takes Beasley Prince and 4 1sts, I would. I just see no way Philly does that as they want someone who can help them win now. Yeah they can flip them but seems highly unlikely.

I think it does come down to the value Morey places on Dlo. What if Morey would do Simmons for Dlo straight up? Or likes been said does he only take it if its dlo Jaden and picks.

I can't stand waiting anymore.

Good thoughts, crazysauce. To answer your question, I would be willing to trade anything within reason that allows me to have a core four of D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Ben Simmons, and Karl-Anthony Towns. I think that foursome propels Minnesota firmly into the top-four in the Western Conference as early as this season. Depth would likely be an issue, and health is another factor that concerns all 30 teams, but those four guys win you 50-plus games. If you're able to retain Jaden McDaniels by offering a premium in draft capital, then that's even better and would be the preferred route, though including McDaniels is not a deal-breaker for me like it is others here.

If you have a core that can contend, and management that has shown they can find talent with second-round picks or undrafted free agents, then trading first-round picks doesn't intimidate me. Not to mention Minnesota would all of a sudden become a relevant free agent destination. New controlling ownership is in the near future as well. That's a lot of potential momentum for a franchise that has sucked balls for the last couple decades.

Crazy - I haven't read or heard anything about Simmons having work-ethic issues. But I have heard that he doesn't taking coaching well and has ignored his coaches pleas to take more jump shots. Given the lack of any improvement in his shooting, including free-throw shooting, I would tend to believe reports that he has work ethic issues and doesn't work much on his game in the offseason. If all of that is true, then that is very troubling. It would certainly explain why the Sixers' organization is so intent on moving Simmons and why his market value has remained so low. It would make me cautious about how much I'd be willing to give up to get him.

Like you, I'm getting tired of the waiting game. The ball seems to be in Morey's court. Rosas has been aggressively pursuing Simmons as reported, then I would think Rosas has made offers and Morey has rejected them. Morey must believe he'll eventually get a better offer than anything the Wolves have offered to date.

Morey is arrogant, but he's not stupid. So I assume he knows that he's not going to get Beal or Lillard. Here's what I suspect:

1. The Cavs have reportedly offered package centered around Sexton, but Morey rejected it. I suspect Morey will hold out for Garland instead of Sexton, but might eventually settle for Sexton.

2. The Raptors reportedly offered VanVleet and Anunoby, but Morey rejected it. I suspect morey is holding out for Siakam instead of Anunoby.

3. The Kings reportedly offered a package centered around Haliburton and Barnes, but Morey rejected it. Now the Kings have apparently taking Haliburton off the table. I suspect that Morey will continue to hold out for a Haliburton/Hield package and might offer other assets in addition to Simmons to get Fox. The Kings had the worst rated defensive in the NBA last season and their ownership is reportedly frustrated with losing and pushing management to take a big step forward this season.

FNG wrote:

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:I saw people freaking out today because the Wolves had a team picture with the team, coaches, front offices and new owners Lore and Arod.

2 people not in the picture. Prince and ANT!!!!

Darren Wolfson: "Ant has some off-the-court stuff to square away this week, so won't be making it to Miami. He will be joining the team for workouts next week."

Some may scoff at this, but it sets off a few warning signals in my head. What off-court stuff does he have to take care of that couldn't been taken care of last week? Maybe it's nothing, but I've been a student of elite athlete behavior for decades, and this sounds familiar to me. I'm on record that Ant is a unique talent, and the only thing that can stop him is Ant himself. I hope he doesn't let it.

In other news, ARod's house in Maimi looks just like mine...

I'd like to hear what it is before getting too worried. For all we know it is has something to do with a charity appearance.

ARod's house is nothing to compared to my house in Florida. I live right next to Jason Mendoza in Jacksonville.

Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, 2020 first-round pick (via Milwaukee via Indiana), 2025 unprotected first-round pick (via Milwaukee), 2027 unprotected first-round pick (via Milwaukee), 2024 first-round pick swap (via Milwaukee), and 2026 first-round pick swap (via Milwaukee)

This was ultimately the price Milwaukee paid to acquire a 30-year old Jrue Holiday with two years (one player-option) left on his contract. Granted, Holiday's situation in New Orleans wasn't nearly as tumultuous as what we might be seeing with Ben Simmons in Philadelphia, but I think it's a good comparison for what they'll eventually get back for him. Philadelphia is not going to get a deal comparable to the one Houston received for James Harden. That's just not happening. The Holiday trade appears to be much closer in value and I thought it'd be interesting to bring it up here.