Kings Pulse: Understanding Ben Simmons and his fit in Sacramento w/ Jackson Frank

According to Sean Cunnigham, PHI covets Buddy Hield. For this reason and many others, this Philly Fan needs to step back from his Ty or Fox or no deal stance, it ain’t happening bro!

Simmons is a hypersensitive baby, a prima donna, who has not improved his offense in 4 years, but I still want him on my team. He’s fast versatile, we need his skills and we can hide his weaknesses, and nurture them through Rico Hines, until the weaknesses are not so glaring. I think we can get him. The only thing that has changed since this saga began is PHI’s leverage has decreased.

McGenius preying in wait, calculating and scheming, ready to go in for the kill, despite these fake reports. Let’s see if he capitalizes and earns his moniker all over again.

The way you win a negotiation is make the other side feel they have won when they haven’t, provide them with a sense of control when they’ve lost it. It has become relatively toxic in PHI, Doc Rivers is overrated and exhausting, his voice grates on the sense. I would not want to play for him. Simmons will always play second fiddle to the more beloved and charismatic and superior force in Embiid. 

After Simmons choked away the ATL series, which I keenly tuned in for all 7 games, while Bogi was doing his best to underperform to similar degree, a reporter asked Rivers if Simmons was “a championship level PG”. The coach equivocated, said he didn’t know. This is the pretense by which the agent Rich Paul and the player are wanting out. This is weak AF. 

Their argument as far as I can tell is the team has lost faith in him, do not believe in him, do not appreciate what he can do, but everyone saw his performance vs ATL. He choked, he was scared. Post game commentary from relevant parties was not going to alter perception in his favor. Embiid can send out all the make-nice tweets he wants well after the fact, it is too late in the mind of the unjustly offended.

Let the record show the coach did NOT throw Simmons under the bus. He was honest without being overtly critical or demeaning. His emotions were raw and he spoke from the heart. This is unforgivable and the basis for irreconciliable differences? If Simmons took ownerhip for his performance he would agree with the coach, agree he has much to prove, did not perform to his standards, use the perceived slight to become better. Instead he wants to run. 

Can you imagine the hell fire that would rain down on Superstar Fox if he choked and folded like Simmons, then wanted out of town as a result of his choking and folding under a bogus premise? Instead, the faithful around these parts, including Jerry Reynolds, want to trade Fox for Simmons?! Wow, just wow! Jerry Reynolds commentary has completely jumped the shark (more on this later). 

This is just an educated guess but I think Simmons decided he will never get the low to mid post touches playing with the best post player in the NBA. If he goes somewhere where his new team puts him in the post more, allow him to use his superior agility and size he can be a 20 PPG scorer, and close to a triple-double machine w/o having to shoot from distance. 

Simmons wants to go anywhere where the burden to shoot is mitigated, where the pressure to take and make 3s, even 15-20 footers, is less intense, where the history and slate is wiped clean. The rebounds and assists and elite defense will remain constant, but what he can do more of is be a low to mid post facilitator and scorer, including half hooks and runners in the lane. Embiid gets in the way of this vision. 

It was reported by Broussard Simmons is willing to play for any team, not just the three CA teams not named SAC. So he wants to play for ANY team, including SAC.  Let’s gooooooo!

How do we get him? Well if you listen to Jerry Reynolds, all we have to do (and should do) is trade away the superior player in Fox, though PHI has NO leverage, so lets overay for the inferior player and supreme choker because, “sometimes you have to take a gamble”??! 

There is a difference between calculated and miscalulated risk, mindless vs mindful. Often I see fans wanting to grant credit for risk-taking in and of itself.

If Vlade was in charge, the big doofus who had a better deal yesterday, I contend he would have flipped Marvin and / or Buddy for Porzingis one week into the off-season. He would have panicked and got skittish with two malcontents and justified it by saying “sometimes you have to take a gamble”. This is not an argument.

This is the depth of thought process of the dupe, the easy mark, failing to do proper risk assessment relative to reward. When Vlade chose Harry Giles, he of the two surgically repaired knees, he justified it by saying “injuries are part of the game”, underestimating the severity and effect on explosiveness. Harry was a good risk as a second round pick or undrafted FA signing, not a mid first rounder. This is another example of improper risk to opportunity analysis.

To address the other flawed logic, Fox would be a multi-time all-star, at least for the last two seasons, if running with Embiid in PHI. Simmons came into the league more physically mature than Fox. The only thing that kept Fox was individual greatness was the requisite strength (as I said from Day One). Fox put in the time in the weight room to eliminate his strength disadvantage and now no one can guard him.

The assertion Simmons is a multi-time all-star thereby elevating him above Fox is not is not compelling or convincing. Fox addressed the issue that delayed his stardom and now he’s unguardable. And now he has Davion to push him to greater heights on both ends, inspiring him to play as hard defensively and checking him in practice every day, making real games childs play. Fox’s career trajectory is up, up, up. Simmons trajectory is flat. Fox has a better personality attitude and maturity level. Jerry and others are missing or glossing over these fundamental points.

Ultimately it is not relevant because we are NOT trading Fox, NOT trading Ty, NOT trading Davion for Simmons! McGenius is NOT desperate or foolhardy, and he’s not pulling the trigger on a blockbuster unless the team is completely constructed thereafter, locked and loaded for 5-7 years to go deep into the playoffs with only tickering on the fringes needed. 

It would seem the teams are at impasse, no hope for a deal. Not so fast. The way Morey operates is he acquires assets and flips. Our picks and swaps would come in handy to add Lillard or Beal, around mid-season when POR and WAS likely falter and decide to blow it up. Isn’t that the ultimate prize to pair with Embiid: Beal or Lillard, to present serious threat to the Bucks and Nets? 

Beal and Lillard are not available at present so Morey can either sit indefinitely on Simmons, fine or suspend him for not showing up to camp, watch his value dwindle further, or he can try to accumulate assets he can forward along to WAS and POR when their receptivity improves.

Of course a deal would become more feasible if we included Davion. No way! We are not trading a player with ice water in his veins, who seizes the moment and all he does is win, dominate games with his defense, vs a guy who fell asleep on LSU, messed the bed for the basketball world to see in one of his biggest professional moments. Back up the Brinks truck for this choker, I dont think so!

This leaves Buddy, the player PHI covets, HB and future picks as our playable hand, incrementally adding picks and removal of protections to the point it becomes almost painful to part with so much. Then Morey feels he “won”, his ego satiated; he gets an immediate talent infusion with Buddy and HB; picks are reserved to make a run at Beal or Lillard. This is the most viable path I can see where PHI and SAC can come to terms.

Buddy, HB and unprotected picks sounds like too much for a choker who wants out, getting swept up in a fenzy of desire then regretting it. But the point where both teams feel like they are giving a lot and not getting enough back is the meeting place where deals get done, and from PHI perspective, NOT getting Davion or Ty is their perception of “not enough”. Even though PHI has no leverage, it only takes one other suitor, GSW, SAS, MIN, to swoop in and up the ante and outbid us for a player that would be our missing piece. We don’t even have a legit starting PF, unless Metu take a step, Marvin takes 4-5 steps, or we move Holmes to PF and start Len, which I would like to see in a three guard look. 

I did not mention Marvin in any scenarios because no one wants him. I predict if and when a deal occurs Marvin will stay in SAC, probably play out his contract and become UFA. Even if you are another team and like Marvin to a mild degree all you have to do is wait one season and get him on the cheap. We are not going to pick up his 14M QO even if he experiences a mini-resurgence, unlikely with the competition he will face for minutes. Morey would rather have throw-ins but valuable bench guys like Metu or TD added to Buddy and picks, more flippable in a package for Beal or Lillard, rather than a prima donna to replace the one he trades away.