Free Agent Thread

[calvin natt]

Also re Simmons

- he has no control ultimately. He’s locked into a contract. He goes wherever Morey wants
- regardless of CJs bad playoff games….he’s still better in the playoffs than Simmons.

 

[illmatic99]

Jack Fischer came on 1080 this morning to clarify the Siakam-CJ stuff.

https://www.audacy.com/1080thefan/podcasts/dirt-sprague-20358/jake-fischer-8-6-21-622177626

I don't think Portland has actively looked to move CJ at this point. Portland has not shown much interest at this point. It will be interesting if they do something once Dame comes back from Tokyo.

About the rumor that created all the drama yesterday: Is it that Toronto was asking for a lot, or Olshey just completely resisting CJ trades altogether? I think it's a bit of both. Siakam's value is lower than Ben Simmons' value right now so it's a mixed bag what Toronto would ask for. But the CJ thing--- it's not unique to Portland to overvalue their guys. Similar to Denver and their guys and Boston with Marcus Smart, etc.

Is Portland done? Should we give up hope? I don't want to say that CJ-Siakam is dead. I'm not saying it's alive -- I was just told it didn't go very far. Trades take a while to come to ther final form. Just because a deal doesn't get done immediately doesn't mean they're done. Teams build frameworks at the deadline, but they complete them in the subsequent summer (Lowry to MIA example).

Windhorst reported earlier and there has always been an interest in Portland for Draymond Green. Is there a three team with Philly for Simmons-CJ-Green deal? I'm not saying it's been discussed but I'm piecing together rumors.

 

[blazerkor]

Good, I never wanted him.

It's cool if you don't want him but you should listen to the sports talk radio show clip where the guy speculates he wouldn't want to go to places like Toronto or Portland... it's sports talk bullshit that for some reason people are acting like is a legit report. It's fucked up that this guy Jason Dumas is making Simmons look like something he very possibly is not. I'm sure Simmons hasn't returned Embiid's calls... Embiid seems like a real prick in general and I don't know if I've ever seen a player throw a teammate under the bus like he did.

 

[B-Roy]

It's interesting to hear Siakam's value is low....

 

[tykendo]

No mention of defense. He and Dame need to understand how important that is

He did that to piss you and others off.

 

[Mediocre Man]

He did that to piss you and others off.

Me and others who want to see them succeed?

 

[glazeduck]

Jack Fischer came on 1080 this morning to clarify the Siakam-CJ stuff.

https://www.audacy.com/1080thefan/podcasts/dirt-sprague-20358/jake-fischer-8-6-21-622177626

Portland has not shown much interest at this point.

Isn't this almost word-for-word how he phrased it earlier this week? Reads to me like the dude is choosing his words carefully for a reason.

 

[tykendo]

It's cool if you don't want him but you should listen to the sports talk radio show clip where the guy speculates he wouldn't want to go to places like Toronto or Portland... it's sports talk bullshit that for some reason people are acting like is a legit report. It's fucked up that this guy Jason Dumas is making Simmons look like something he very possibly is not. I'm sure Simmons hasn't returned Embiid's calls... Embiid seems like a real prick in general and I don't know if I've ever seen a player throw a teammate under the bus like he did.

That's fair, then maybe he needs to come out and clarify what's being said like Dame did. Agree on Embiid. He's an asshole for sure.

 

[glazeduck]

It's cool if you don't want him but you should listen to the sports talk radio show clip where the guy speculates he wouldn't want to go to places like Toronto or Portland... it's sports talk bullshit that for some reason people are acting like is a legit report. It's fucked up that this guy Jason Dumas is making Simmons look like something he very possibly is not. I'm sure Simmons hasn't returned Embiid's calls... Embiid seems like a real prick in general and I don't know if I've ever seen a player throw a teammate under the bus like he did.

Yep, very much in general people in here are taking thigs said on twitter as something way too close to fact, when much of it is manufactured content designed to cause drama (and clicks).

 

[illmatic99]

Daryl has made some pretty ridiculous offers to Portland/Toronto/and the rest of the league. Trading Simmons before Dame situation is resolved doesn't make sense from the Philly side.

From talking to Philly people, there has definitely been another breakdown in communication with him and the team.

 

[illmatic99]

Everyone around the league is hoping Dame becomes available. There just hasn't been a major change in the roster to motivate him further. So it's interesting to see what can be done. I'm looking forward to next week when everyone reconvenes in Vegas at Summer League to see if any deals can happen.

Prediction: If Dame is staying in Portland... i would expect it more likely than not that CJ has been traded for someone else.

 

[Natebishop3]

People sure are acting like Simmons came out and publicly said he doesn't want to come here. Some bozo says it and now it's just truth?

 

[B-Roy]

Fischer says gun to his head, if Dame is here on opening night, CJ has probably been traded. But that is pure speculation.

 

[illmatic99]

Terrific interview by whoever that guy was btw. Much better than the trash we got from that 620 AM dude earlier.

 

[blazerkor]

That's fair, then maybe he needs to come out and clarify what's being said like Dame did. Agree on Embiid. He's an asshole for sure.

I'm pretty sure the mental toughness of Dame and the resultant way he handles these things is very different from Simmons at this point in his career. I doubt we hear from Simmons at all this summer until he's introduced at his new team's presser and after that new team has expressed how much they believe in him. The dude may not have the best work ethic or maybe he is a hard worker but I think one thing that was pretty obvious is that he was the scapegoat on that team and it fucked with his confidence and probably has him in either a low or petulant place.

If he has no work ethic and is prone to petulance then he's probably not the player I would want but if he's a product of the shit show that Philly was and the assholes that Doc and Embiid seem to have been to him; I personally think having Dame as a teammate and Chauncey as a head coach could have a transformative effect on his game and even his outlook on his career and life.

 

[blazerkor]

Yep, very much in general people in here are taking thigs said on twitter as something way too close to fact, when much of it is manufactured content designed to cause drama (and clicks).

The crazy thing is that Dame just had to publicly prove that his shit isn't real and he had to do it about a guy with far more credentials than this Bay Area local sportscaster. Learn from the past people... taking this shit as fact and saying shit like "fuck Ben Simmons" is fucking insanity.

 

[illmatic99]

Outside of Siakam/Simmons, what other CJ targets are there? I have no interest in Grant for CJ or even Draymond for CJ. Those are talent downgrades and probably not attainable. Brandon Ingram would be a pipedream.

We'd maybe have to look at getting someone below CJ's caliber at a forward spot AND adding a bench asset to make up for the talent discrepancy. I keep looking at Hayward. If healthy, he's either at or better than CJ. But as is, with his contract, we'd need to get more for him.

Does this interest anyone?



Roster would be far more balanced.

Dame/ Simons
Powell/ Ross
Hayward / Little
Roco / ? Millsap?
Nurk / Zeller

 

[B-Roy]

Could be that Neil is willing to deal CJ but needs Dame fully on-board, which is hard to do while Dame is in Tokyo and focusing on the Olympics. Could be they discuss in detail once Dame comes back about the offers we have gotten so far and whether they are truly worth pursuing. Which is also why the talks are dead for now.

I'm grasping at straws at this point.

 

[B-Roy]

Outside of Siakam/Simmons, what other CJ targets are there? I have no interest in Grant for CJ or even Draymond for CJ. Those are talent downgrades and probably not attainable. Brandon Ingram would be a pipedream.

We'd maybe have to look at getting someone below CJ's caliber at a forward spot AND adding a bench asset to make up for the talent discrepancy. I keep looking at Hayward. If healthy, he's either at or better than CJ. But as is, with his contract, we'd need to get more for him.

Does this interest anyone?

View attachment 40109

Roster would be far more balanced.

Dame/ Simons
Powell/ Ross
Hayward / Little
Roco / ? Millsap?
Nurk / Zeller

It probably doesn't interest the Hornets. Rozier/Bouknight/LaMelo and they just signed Ish Smith.

 

[Minstrel]

iggy is two years removed from being useful.

He's not a top-end complementary player anymore, but I think he's still a good value as a minimum contract reserve. The Lakers and Nets were also pursuing him, apparently.

 

[Natebishop3]

Could be that Neil is willing to deal CJ but needs Dame fully on-board, which is hard to do while Dame is in Tokyo and focusing on the Olympics. Could be they discuss in detail once Dame comes back about the offers we have gotten so far and whether they are truly worth pursuing. Which is also why the talks are dead for now.

I'm grasping at straws at this point.

Neil just can't be this stupid. I have a hard time believing it. Dame has publicly come out and said the roster isn't good enough. If Neil is telling Dame he's wrong, then Neil needs to go. This isn't the time to argue with him. I'm just really hoping this is all a ploy by Neil to try to up CJ's value a little bit.

 

[illmatic99]

He's not a top-end complementary player anymore, but I think he's still a good value as a minimum contract reserve. The Lakers and Nets were also pursuing him, apparently.

Lakers also were paying Jared Dudley to sit on the bench last year.

 

[B-Roy]

Neil just can't be this stupid. I have a hard time believing it. Dame has publicly come out and said the roster isn't good enough. If Neil is telling Dame he's wrong, then Neil needs to go. This isn't the time to argue with him. I'm just really hoping this is all a ploy by Neil to try to up CJ's value a little bit.

Even so, it's worth debating the merits of whether a CJ+Nas (for example) trade for Siakam really makes us better this season. Obviously the fans do. Olshey may not. Who knows what Dame really thinks. But it's hard to have a detailed conversation about it when one person is halfway across the world and focusing on getting a gold medal.

 

[Minstrel]

Lakers also were paying Jared Dudley to sit on the bench last year.

That's cool. My point is simply that he's still a player coveted by contenders as a minimum contract.

 

[Scalma]

Neil just can't be this stupid. I have a hard time believing it. Dame has publicly come out and said the roster isn't good enough. If Neil is telling Dame he's wrong, then Neil needs to go. This isn't the time to argue with him. I'm just really hoping this is all a ploy by Neil to try to up CJ's value a little bit.

Dame isn’t the GM, it’s not his job to decide whether the roster is good enough or not. That’s Olsheys job and he is trusted to make that decision, so what Dame thinks doesn’t really matter. How many times have we seen stars get what they want only for it to not work out, and they ask for a trade anyway, but only after their team sacrificed their entire immediate future to please them? Shit we just saw it with Harden and Houston.

Sorry, I love Dame but I love the Blazer more and will prioritize what’s best for them, not Damian Lillard. If he doesn’t like it, trade his ass. We ain’t contending for a chip as it stands anyway.

 

[Natebishop3]

Dame isn’t the GM, it’s not his job to decide whether the roster is good enough or not. That’s Olsheys job and he is trusted to make that decision, so what Dame thinks doesn’t really matter. How many times have we seen stars get what they want only for it to not work out, and they ask for a trade anyway, but only after their team sacrificed their entire immediate future to please them? Shit we just saw it with Harden and Houston.

Sorry, I love Dame but I love the Blazer more and will prioritize what’s best for them, not Damian Lillard. If he doesn’t like it, trade his ass. We ain’t contending for a chip as it stands anyway.

It's Dame's job to decide if he wants to be in Portland, and if he thinks the roster isn't good enough and he will only stay if we're actively trying to build a contender, then it's Neil's fucking job to do that. He has been holding the bag on CJ for way too fucking long. When do you think CJ's value will be higher, right now or after we dump Dame and everyone knows it' a firesale?

 

[wizenheimer]

- regardless of CJs bad playoff games….he’s still better in the playoffs than Simmons.

in the playoffs:

PER: CJ 15.4....Simmons 17.6
TS%: CJ .530....Simmons .575
eFG%: CJ .503....Simmons .571
reb rate: CJ 6.4%....Simmons 12.5%
assist rate: CJ 13.7%....Simmons 31.5%
winshares 48: CJ .050....Simmons .147
BPM: CJ 0.4....Simmons 3.4

 

[boredinsalem]

I like that second unit, but Nas better be in the rotation this year.

Young has remade his game as a playmaking 4. I think he'd add a great wrinkle to our offense that we could make use of when Dame is trapped or we need high post action. I wouldn't hesitate at throwing a first for him. He'd be part of our 8 man playoff rotation for sure, while Jones clearly isn't.

Agreed on everything (including Nas being in the rotation). If we really are keeping CJ (not my vote), I think we should move Simons for a point of attack defender that can play with CJ in the second unit. I'm not sure who that would be though. Any ideas?

 

[illmatic99]

Agreed on everything (including Nas being in the rotation). If we really are keeping CJ (not my vote), I think we should move Simons for a point of attack defender that can play with CJ in the second unit. I'm not sure who that would be though. Any ideas?

smart

 

[e_blazer]

Agreed on everything (including Nas being in the rotation). If we really are keeping CJ (not my vote), I think we should move Simons for a point of attack defender that can play with CJ in the second unit. I'm not sure who that would be though. Any ideas?

Bradley?