Would Ben Simmons be the last piece of our puzzle?

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Not only would Ben Simmons not be the last piece to the puzzle, but to me it’s actually weird that people think this team is that close- a player away. I dont see any way Lillard wins a title here considering the lack of assets they have to get something back. They need to pray that some team makes a bad deal with them. They are stuck financially and CJ and Nurkic are the assets. Not good.
 
calvin natt said:
Not only would Ben Simmons not be the last piece to the puzzle, but to me it’s actually weird that people think this team is that close- a player away. I dont see any way Lillard wins a title here considering the lack of assets they have to get something back. They need to pray that some team makes a bad deal with them. They are stuck financially and CJ and Nurkic are the assets. Not good.
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Neil Olshey

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BlazerWookee said:
"Our," lol...
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LOL at what?

After all those years of failures that are nearly leading Lillard to leave do you keep makes fun of my takes?

They were all right Unfortunately, since the Dame/CJ duo was created we were never contender but you wouldn't hear it
 
Is Ben the final piece to the puzzle? No.

Could he be an important cog to help us get better give our roster? Yes.

CJ can be a brilliant scorer but he and Dame taking 50% of the shots is not the answer. This roster needs additional strengths, not duplicate ones. Simmons is a brilliant defender, tremendous passes and can be quite a good scorer. He attacks the rim and finds shots for teammates and would be a GREAT outlet for Dame when he gets trapped.

His balance (and CJ gone) gives Powell a bigger role instead of being an afterthought standing in the corner. RoCo will likely also get more shots instead of less than 5 on many nights. Would there be an issue late in games? Certainly there could be but not the same type of issue as he had in Philly.

1. Dame will have the ball the majority of the time and Ben would be a great outlet off the trap to create a quick decision in the subsequent 4-on-3.
2. Someone with the moniker "Mr. Big Shot" you would think could help the confidence of a player who can shoot, but has certainly lost that swagger.
3. New neighborhood. Obviously Rivers and Embiid have or already had lost confidence in Simmons and Joel/Ben have clashed for a while.
4. Simmons becomes a massive upgrade at PG for the bench unit where he won't have to worry about being fouled in late game situations.

Are there additional pieces that would need to fit around Dame/Powell/RoCo/Simmons/Nurk(?)? Certainly, but with the FA situation of the current roster, it would seem like there are a number of opportunities for Olshey to get pieces that would fit with a new major addition and a new coaching philosophy.
 
Fez Forthright said:
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We're basically a third as likely to have him as Philly is... obviously this isn't actual likelihood but more what the books want people to bet on but still. I think it's pretty crazy that they're giving 90 cents on the dollar to people who have him staying put and just three dollars to someone who predicts that he'll end up here.

I really do think this trade will happen. I think Chauncey would love to have a big, athletic defender who can dribble and pass the ball on offense. I mean in my head it's like if we make this deal before free agency then we'll likely keep Norm. So for me it's like trading CJ for Norm and Ben. We take a supercharged clunky offense and give it more fluidity and we take a nonexistent defense and supercharge it.

There are probably follow up moves that will have to be made unless Nurk can show that he can consistently space the floor with the three ball but wow, it would be exciting to have a monster like Simmons on this team.
 
Seriously, though, I kind of wonder if part of the allure of Coach Billups was his experience in Detroit. He was there first hand to see how a team can make Ben Wallace work.

I wonder if one of the reasons Portland signed him was because they had a strong suspicion they were on the inside track to trading for Simmons. Dame doesn't need coaching. Simmons clearly does.

Is there a more likely candidate to unlock Simmons' potential than Chauncy Billups?
 
mook said:
Seriously, though, I kind of wonder if part of the allure of Coach Billups was his experience in Detroit. He was there first hand to see how a team can make Ben Wallace work.

I wonder if one of the reasons Portland signed him was because they had a strong suspicion they were on the inside track to trading for Simmons. Dame doesn't need coaching. Simmons clearly does.

Is there a more likely candidate to unlock Simmons' potential than Chauncy Billups?
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Absolutely. Of course, then there's this:
https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-c...don-ingram-comments-from-2016-look-great-now/
 
Fez Forthright said:
Updated a few days ago:

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If we get him, I'll be excited but I definitely don't think he's the last piece of our puzzle because him and Nurk aren't a fit. So I think we'd have to see Nurk moved if we get Simmons.
 
I will admit to having had a bit of a Ben Simmons obsession for a while there. Basically, Rajon Rondo is one of my all-time fave non-Blazers, and I thought Simmons could be a 6'10 Rondo. Well, maybe they're tied more closely than I thought, because they're both fucking useless now.

What happened to Ben Simmons? Is it purely mental? I mean, he should still be able to get assists - he hasn't forgotten how to pass. He should get rebounds. But he's like a triple-single and 5 fouls in 20-odd minutes every night. And if he doesn't get a bunch of fouls, he's still being sat for the entire 4th because he has a complete phobia of shooting...

...and he's shooting less than 40% from the FT line. I haven't seen anything like this since Nick Anderson's free throwing was broken by missing two FTs in the first game of the Magic-Rockets finals and losing them the game (leading to a sweep).

If you wanted to resurrect Simmons's career, what would you do? Have him play in the G-League just to remind him that he's better than everyone there? I'm not sure that would work, because part of his problem seems to be his incredibly fragile ego, and he might feel so dissed by that (like when Embiid and Doc badmouthed him and he decided he was never going to play for the Sixers again) that you'd lose him. Who would be a coach that could reach him? Is there an NBA team he could actually help? Maybe a team full of shooters with poor defense and no PG?

My best suggestion is maybe Golden State? How about this:

upload_2023-1-26_11-52-3.png

I think obviously the Nets would be more in favor of that trade (Klay would make a good complement to Kyrie and Durant - and of course Durant has already won two rings with him) but the trade machine says the Warriors do better. Plus they offload Klay's obscene contract and move past the mistake that is Wiseman, and meanwhile Joe Harris is a cheap Klay-lite who seems to have fallen out of favor in Brooklyn. Now, I don't think the Warriors WOULD do it (although, with the rumors they're not going to keep Bob Myers, who knows) but if they could get Simmons to be a younger Dray, it would be a huge success.

Notice that I didn't suggest what is a more obvious trade - Wiggins for Simmons - mainly because Wiggins, the long-maligned "bust" as a #1 pick is now a better player than Simmons-the-#1-pick. Sign of the times. But SOMETHING'S got to happen:
 
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If Ben Simmons was getting 12-15M a year then I would be interested. He is hardly playing like a superstar, or even a star, and yet is paid like one. He is owed 37M and 40M in 2024 and 2025. Unless he really makes some changes I think he is done. Role player.
 
julius said:
Why on earth would the Warriors even contemplate that horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE trade??
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Way to fixate on the entirely speculative part. But (a) they wouldn't, out of loyalty to Klay, but (b) :
upload_2023-1-26_12-37-1.png
upload_2023-1-26_12-37-25.png

The Warriors are currently mediocre, Klay has also sucked, is considerably older and the Warriors have a player who duplicates his offensive prowess who is also paid a lot in the form of Jordan Poole.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Way to fixate on the entirely speculative part. But (a) they wouldn't, out of loyalty to Klay, but (b) :
View attachment 53265
View attachment 53266

The Warriors are currently mediocre, Klay has also sucked, is considerably older and the Warriors have a player who duplicates his offensive prowess who is also paid a lot in the form of Jordan Poole.
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Please??? Klay just hit a clutch 3 with Curry ejected to win a huge game vs the Grizzlies. Simmons can't hold Klay's jock.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
I will admit to having had a bit of a Ben Simmons obsession for a while there. Basically, Rajon Rondo is one of my all-time fave non-Blazers, and I thought Simmons could be a 6'10 Rondo. Well, maybe they're tied more closely than I thought, because they're both fucking useless now.

What happened to Ben Simmons? Is it purely mental? I mean, he should still be able to get assists - he hasn't forgotten how to pass. He should get rebounds. But he's like a triple-single and 5 fouls in 20-odd minutes every night. And if he doesn't get a bunch of fouls, he's still being sat for the entire 4th because he has a complete phobia of shooting...

...and he's shooting less than 40% from the FT line. I haven't seen anything like this since Nick Anderson's free throwing was broken by missing two FTs in the first game of the Magic-Rockets finals and losing them the game (leading to a sweep).

If you wanted to resurrect Simmons's career, what would you do? Have him play in the G-League just to remind him that he's better than everyone there? I'm not sure that would work, because part of his problem seems to be his incredibly fragile ego, and he might feel so dissed by that (like when Embiid and Doc badmouthed him and he decided he was never going to play for the Sixers again) that you'd lose him. Who would be a coach that could reach him? Is there an NBA team he could actually help? Maybe a team full of shooters with poor defense and no PG?

My best suggestion is maybe Golden State? How about this:

View attachment 53263

I think obviously the Nets would be more in favor of that trade (Klay would make a good complement to Kyrie and Durant - and of course Durant has already won two rings with him) but the trade machine says the Warriors do better. Plus they offload Klay's obscene contract and move past the mistake that is Wiseman, and meanwhile Joe Harris is a cheap Klay-lite who seems to have fallen out of favor in Brooklyn. Now, I don't think the Warriors WOULD do it (although, with the rumors they're not going to keep Bob Myers, who knows) but if they could get Simmons to be a younger Dray, it would be a huge success.

Notice that I didn't suggest what is a more obvious trade - Wiggins for Simmons - mainly because Wiggins, the long-maligned "bust" as a #1 pick is now a better player than Simmons-the-#1-pick. Sign of the times. But SOMETHING'S got to happen:
Click to expand...

I remember about 3 years ago when I suggested on Blazers Edge, before they became Cancel Culture warriors driving off decades long posters because I didn't agree with that woman that Billups is 110% a rapist (fuck BlazersEdge!!!!!) and I was almost driven off the site and pillioried for suggesting a CJ for Wiggins swap. Those fucking morons at BE were wrong yet again. Wiggins just needed good coaching and teammates like I said. It's a pity we didn't do that trade imagine a lineup of.

Lillard, GPII, Wiggins, Grant, Nurkic

With Sharpe etc. coming off the bench. That would be SOOOO much better. Presumably we can trade a late pick for Grant still so that would be easily achievable. OH WELL!
 
sheed30 said:
I can’t believe how many on here wanted Simmons lmao, we have a poll and all.

You guys should all be ashamed of yourself now.
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Yep I got the Simmons one wrong. Mental issues are extremely hard to understand and see if they will stick or not. Look at Fultz resurrecting his career, or Larry Sanders going from DPOY level to out of the league.
 
sheed30 said:
I can’t believe how many on here wanted Simmons lmao, we have a poll and all.

You guys should all be ashamed of yourself now.
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I'll face the music. I wanted him here because there were things he could do that no one lese on the roster could. He would still instantly be the teams best defender, best passer, would give Dame an decision making outlet when he gets doubled, and surprisingly, because of the shots he takes, his eFG is higher than both And and Dame.

That is not to say he doesn't come without baggage.....which is a much the case now as it was a year or so ago. But at the time, it would have been for CJ. Since I believed they would move CJ eventually and replace his minutes with Ant's, I believed it would be an add that would overall make the team better. This team is still TERRIBLE defensively and so much of the trade talk is to surround Dame with more size/length that can cover for his and Ant's defensive deficiencies.

He would still have his issues.....but I'm not sure it doesn't make them a better team.
 
Idog1976 said:
I remember about 3 years ago when I suggested on Blazers Edge, before they became Cancel Culture warriors driving off decades long posters because I didn't agree with that woman that Billups is 110% a rapist (fuck BlazersEdge!!!!!) and I was almost driven off the site and pillioried for suggesting a CJ for Wiggins swap. Those fucking morons at BE were wrong yet again. Wiggins just needed good coaching and teammates like I said. It's a pity we didn't do that trade imagine a lineup of.

Lillard, GPII, Wiggins, Grant, Nurkic

With Sharpe etc. coming off the bench. That would be SOOOO much better. Presumably we can trade a late pick for Grant still so that would be easily achievable. OH WELL!
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I wanted Wiggins as well.
 
TBpup said:
I'll face the music. I wanted him here because there were things he could do that no one lese on the roster could. He would still instantly be the teams best defender, best passer, would give Dame an decision making outlet when he gets doubled, and surprisingly, because of the shots he takes, his eFG is higher than both And and Dame.

That is not to say he doesn't come without baggage.....which is a much the case now as it was a year or so ago. But at the time, it would have been for CJ. Since I believed they would move CJ eventually and replace his minutes with Ant's, I believed it would be an add that would overall make the team better. This team is still TERRIBLE defensively and so much of the trade talk is to surround Dame with more size/length that can cover for his and Ant's defensive deficiencies.

He would still have his issues.....but I'm not sure it doesn't make them a better team.
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I still think the team needs to roll the dice on a high risk/high reward move. It's the only way we're ever going to win anything.
 
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