I respectfully disagree - Embiid is (maybe) the most complete stretch 5 playing (really solidified his shooting this year). Yes, he was a little slow in the playoffs, but that’s what happens when you have a torn meniscus.
If anything, Simmons needs to be paired with a playmaking guard (someone had mentioned Portland - I like it). Allow Simmons off the ball work - you can even run some of your offense through him whenever you want as a point forward or whatever - but you then have someone to control the ball and take the big shots at ends of game. It’s really what Philly was lacking - anyone who can run a ball screen with Embiid with 2 minutes left and make the right decisions.
Simmons isn’t a plug and play but he’d fit on a lot of teams. He’s a top 3 defensive player in the league that can guard 1-5. I think a lot of teams could use that. Heck the Sixers were just the 1 seed so it’s not like their team was a disaster.
Simmons needs a team where he can operate as the C or be next to an ELITE shooting C. Put him in PnR where he can be a lob threat or killing people on the short roll.
Situations that stand out to me as particularly good: Minnesota. They have offense and possibly the best shooting C out there. He could transform their team but I don’t think they have the assets or cap space. Warriors as essentially new Draymond. Nuggets with Jokic. If I’m the blazers I would gamble on him for sure.
After a longtime hiatus from the NBA (beginning shortly after the ‘04 Stones title), most of my basketball viewing has been Michigan or B1G ball. I’ve finally gotten back in on these playoffs and really enjoyed them. But it is kinda shocking to see a player that refuses to shoot. I can’t even think of a player that could even possibly do that! We complain so often (wrongly, I think) about Jeff Jackson’s poor shooting and struggle to finish due to his height, for example, but he’s nailing a hook in that situation.
That all said (and admittedly knowing very little about the 6ers), I think it was trash that Embiid and Doc spoke the way they did about Simmons after the game. Simmons didn’t turn it over with less than a minute left to lead to a run out. Simmons didn’t foul a 3-pt shooter. Please someone provide some context for why those comments weren’t horrible.
But you don’t want Embild to be ONLY a stretch five. You want Simmons to have the ball in his hand going downhill or off the ball in the dunker spot or screening and rolling. Only the first one works with Embild on the court too.
This @sportsaddict144 ^^^ 100%. Doc and Embiid putting it all on Simmons is nonsensical. Embiid turned it over for a breakaway layup and a four point swing in the final minute (one of his EIGHT turnovers on the night) but he calls out one play that resulted in one point instead of two with three minutes left as the reason they lost? Doc has flamed out in the playoffs every season for ten years straight, always as a big favorite or with a big series lead and he notoriously publicly questions his players after defeat (as he did with Paul George who is having himself a GREAT playoffs this year).
Simmons has basically been in the worst possible situation for his skillset, still averages 16/8/8 on his career, is one of the best defensive players in the league and was a huge part of why the Sixers were the 1 seed. And people are acting like there’s zero market for him?? I would jump all over that as a Pistons fan.
Embiid isn’t very fun to watch. He flops and flails more than Vlade ever did. He’s a great talent but not easy to watch. Please keep him away from Dame. Your energy is better spent trying to envision a way Dame goes to Detroit!
I see what you’re saying. I just think at this point Simmons would work more in a complementary/secondary creator role - I don’t think it’s as important to pair him with a stretch big as it would be to pair him with a true scoring guard and then allow him to play the “point forward.”
Simmons is talented - but at this point, his weaknesses are a liability - would love him as a secondary piece, but you basically have to make up for his weaknesses with a scoring/creating threat (think Dame, Trae, Steph - anyone who can run your offense in the last five minutes and is an A1 creator). I don’t think pairing Simmons with a stretch big man solves his bigger issues (i.e. he is unplayable with 5 minutes left in a close game).
His contract certainly does not match his current value, but he is a whole lot more than a better passer Ben Wallace without rim protection.
That’s the problem. Athletic tall guy who can’t shoot? Plenty of room for that in the NBA. You can forge a 15-year career doing that. (not, obviously, at that salary–as far as trade value goes his contract is a 20-ton anchor).
Simmons is a lot more than an athletic tall guy. He has incredible gifts in vision, ball movement, passing. Not just slightly better; he is a unique, remarkable talent. Nobody is going Andre Drummond for scoring 9 ppg in the playoffs for the Lakers, because everyone knows that he is who he is.
Simmons has the gifts to be so, so much more. Even if he’s not a great shooter, his playmaking should be much more significant (consider how Rajon Rondo, also gifted with incredible ball movement and passing, impacted games without being much of a shooter). The fact that he is not is… maddening.
Tbh, I think people are overrating his passing/vision. He shouldn’t be a PG and should be moved to PF/small ball C. I just don’t see the amazing vision/passing that you see some of the players have like LBJ, Trae, CP3, etc.
