Ben Simmons formally demands trade

[The Q]

No.

Technically they sold him at peak value and avoided a seriously bad max contract.

However, they also pulled an out of nowhere predeadline move that was widely criticized because they didn’t get enough back. It was a typical Vlade move.

In other words they sold Cousins at peak value for a bargain basement price.

They got hield (top 5 pick the prior year, more of a top 10 pick in a regular draft, similar to okoro in 2020) and a first and a second.

It was light compared to what stars go for now.

But it also was right at he time that small ball was becoming the big thing, and cousins wanted a super max deal. Not just a regular max.

I think the worst part was just the story that everyone thought the deal was done and then they did a 180 without telling him

 

[The Q]

The Kings haven't been in the playoffs since the Bush administration. At some point you have to start taking chances. Hoping all your young guys will develop and stay with the team is the vicious cycle of basketball.

They have. Their front office is just a disaster.

They’re luck the Barnes thing worked out. He was not really that good when he did them a favor and opted out. Now he’s suddenly found a new gear.

It would be really interesting to see what they look like with luka and not bagley.

 

[The Q]

The kings seem to be the best fit for Simmons in multiple ways

Either a fox deal (Simmons, Joe and Reed)

Or hield and Mitchell (morey seems to be a delusional dick and want more than this)

 

[trojanfan12]

How bad is the kings franchise?

According to an athletic article Walton is the best coach they’ve had since adelman

And as I predicted a week or so ago, they will hire someone who won't be much, if any, improvement over Walton and fire him. Meanwhile, they won't address their poorly constructed roster and any players who are actually worth anything will leave via FA.

 

[The Q]

And as I predicted a week or so ago, they will hire someone who won't be much, if any, improvement over Walton and fire him. Meanwhile, they won't address their poorly constructed roster and any players who are actually worth anything will leave via FA.

I don’t think Walton is a solution. But he’s also not the problem.


So firing him now rather Than this past or this upcoming April is just weird to me

 

[flyerhawk]

The kings seem to be the best fit for Simmons in multiple ways

Either a fox deal (Simmons, Joe and Reed)

Or hield and Mitchell (morey seems to be a delusional dick and want more than this)

The Fox deal makes more sense for the Kings but it won't happen.

The Sixers aren't going to do a Hield/Mitchell for Simmons deal straight up.

 

[flyerhawk]

They have. Their front office is just a disaster.

They’re luck the Barnes thing worked out. He was not really that good when he did them a favor and opted out. Now he’s suddenly found a new gear.

It would be really interesting to see what they look like with luka and not bagley.

I would say that the Kings ownership have been a big part of the problem with Vivek and the Maloof family.

 

[tlance]

They got hield (top 5 pick the prior year, more of a top 10 pick in a regular draft, similar to okoro in 2020) and a first and a second.

It was light compared to what stars go for now.

But it also was right at he time that small ball was becoming the big thing, and cousins wanted a super max deal. Not just a regular max.

I think the worst part was just the story that everyone thought the deal was done and then they did a 180 without telling him

It was a good year or 2 before bigs were completely devalued.

The consensus at the time was shock that they seemed to rush into a deal 2 weeks before the deadline and didn’t shop for a better price.

Hindsight it actually looks good for the Kings for the simple fact that they didn’t extend him. But at the time Vlade was correctly blasted for an underwhelming return for a 25 and 10 guy.

 

[flyerhawk]

It was a good year or 2 before bigs were completely devalued.

The consensus at the time was shock that they seemed to rush into a deal 2 weeks before the deadline and didn’t shop for a better price.

Hindsight it actually looks good for the Kings for the simple fact that they didn’t extend him. But at the time Vlade was correctly blasted for an underwhelming return for a 25 and 10 guy.

I believe it was reported at the time that Vivek was in love with Hield and wanted him to be the center piece of the deal

 

[trojanfan12]

I don’t think Walton is a solution. But he’s also not the problem.


So firing him now rather Than this past or this upcoming April is just weird to me

Exactly. I agree that he likely wasn't the solution, but as you point out, he also wasn't the problem. No one is going to mistake him for Pop, but he's good with young players and, like most NBA coaches, if you give him a roster that can win...he'll likely win. Then the question becomes...is he the guy that can take them from a winning team to a true contender?

Generally speaking, you fix your roster first, then you decide if you have the right coach. It's a lot easier to attract a high quality coach when you can offer a good roster.

 

[flyerhawk]

Exactly. I agree that he likely wasn't the solution, but as you point out, he also wasn't the problem. No one is going to mistake him for Pop, but he's good with young players and, like most NBA coaches, if you give him a roster that can win...he'll likely win. Then the question becomes...is he the guy that can take them from a winning team to a true contender?

Generally speaking, you fix your roster first, then you decide if you have the right coach. It's a lot easier to attract a high quality coach when you can offer a good roster.

Hard to build a good roster when the owner keeps interfering.

 

[shopson67]

What up Sacramento? Lol

Congrats to Luke, freeing up some time to decompress and enjoy the holidays!

 

[trojanfan12]

Hard to build a good roster when the owner keeps interfering.

Not to toot my favorite teams horn too much...but I will never understand why more owners don't follow the Dr. Buss blueprint of hiring the best people you can get and letting them do their jobs.

Using that blueprint from the day he bought the team in 1979 to the day he died in 2013 made the Lakers arguably the most successful franchise in all sports for that 33 year period.

 

[shopson67]

Not to toot my favorite teams horn too much...but I will never understand why more owners don't follow the Dr. Buss blueprint of hiring the best people you can get and letting them do their jobs.

Using that blueprint from the day he bought the team in 1979 to the day he died in 2013 made the Lakers arguably the most successful franchise in all sports for that 33 year period.

I wish more teams (in all sports) would follow that blueprint. Nothing frustrates me more. It's not like those guys are micromanaging their non-football entities; I'm sure there are many levels of management before anyone is making day-to-day decisions at the ground level. But they treat their sports teams as expensive toys and want to be involved. I guess I would too if it was my team.

 

[The Q]

I wish more teams (in all sports) would follow that blueprint. Nothing frustrates me more. It's not like those guys are micromanaging their non-football entities; I'm sure there are many levels of management before anyone is making day-to-day decisions at the ground level. But they treat their sports teams as expensive toys and want to be involved. I guess I would too if it was my team.

Yeah. It’s weird how that’s how they got rich and successful and they don’t follow it for their teams

 

[flyerhawk]

Not to toot my favorite teams horn too much...but I will never understand why more owners don't follow the Dr. Buss blueprint of hiring the best people you can get and letting them do their jobs.

Using that blueprint from the day he bought the team in 1979 to the day he died in 2013 made the Lakers arguably the most successful franchise in all sports for that 33 year period.

And then his son took over and he lit that blueprint on fire.

 

[trojanfan12]

And then his son took over and he lit that blueprint on fire.

He didn't just light the blueprint on fire...that idiot damn near burned the whole franchise down by doing pretty much the exact opposite of what his Dad did.

Thankfully, Dr. Buss was also smart enough to give Jeanie the ultimate power so that she could kick Short Buss to the curb and run things like her Dad. lol

 

[The Q]

He didn't just light the blueprint on fire...that idiot damn near burned the whole franchise down by doing pretty much the exact opposite of what his Dad did.

Thankfully, Dr. Buss was also smart enough to give Jeanie the ultimate power so that she could kick Short Buss to the curb and run things like her Dad. lol

Please

Jeannie was only lucky that the lakers are near Hollywood.

Hollywood got Lebron.

Not Jeannie

The end

 

[flyerhawk]

He didn't just light the blueprint on fire...that idiot damn near burned the whole franchise down by doing pretty much the exact opposite of what his Dad did.

Thankfully, Dr. Buss was also smart enough to give Jeanie the ultimate power so that she could kick Short Buss to the curb and run things like her Dad. lol

Well I agree that Jeannie is better than her brother but it remains to be seen what happens when Lebron retires.

 

[The Q]

Well I agree that Jeannie is better than her brother but it remains to be seen what happens when Lebron retires.

She’s done little to show she’s anything else

Do you guys think Jeannie would’ve let Kobe walk?