The Ben Simmons Sweepstakes

[One More Rebound]

Ben Simmons' stat line in his most recent game: 43 points on 15 of 20 shooting, 13 of 15 from the free throw line. Also, 14 rebounds, 11 on the defensive end, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. All this from a player who reportedly doesn't have a consistent jump shot yet. The question is, is it worth it for The Sixers or The Lakers, etc., to tank this season to get him?

 

[MsProudSooner]

How did LSU land him?

 

[One More Rebound]

LSU assistant coach David Patrick had played pro ball in Australia with Ben's father.

 

[One More Rebound]

By the way, OU plays LSU January 30th...

 

[usedtobe1]

The question is, is it worth it for The Sixers or The Lakers, etc., to tank this season to get him?

I think so if he really is a "once in a decade" type player. The Spurs tanked a season to get Tim Duncan back in the 90's. That worked out pretty well for them.

 

[thebigabd]

Guy is insanely good and whoever gets him has a franchise player.

 

[Smash Williams]

The question is, is it worth it for The Sixers or The Lakers, etc., to tank this season to get him?

Those teams are already horrible. Do they really have a choice at this point? It's not as if either of those teams is a midseason trade or two away from making a run at the playoffs.

The Lakers owe their 2016 first round pick to Philly if it falls outside the Top 3, so they're strongly incentivized to tank, regardless of Simmons.

Perhaps it's a more relevant question for a team like Denver. They're not historically bad like the Lakers and Sixers, but they're not going to make the playoffs, and unlike the Nets and Kings, the Nuggets actually have their own 2016 first round pick. Right now, they're in the 6th-8th range draft-wise, which would give them a 2.8-6.3% chance of landing the #1 pick. They're not catching the Sixers or Lakers in the race for worst record, so the Nuggets' best hope is finishing 3rd-worst, which would give them a 15.6% shot at #1. Do the Nuggets scrap a worse than mediocre team by trading vets with friendly contracts (Gallinari, Faried, Chandler) for future assets and a marginal increase in their odds of landing the #1 pick, or do they try to maintain a competitive culture around young players like Mudiay and Nurkic?

 

[Smash Williams]

I think so if he really is a "once in a decade" type player. The Spurs tanked a season to get Tim Duncan back in the 90's. That worked out pretty well for them.

The Spurs didn't tank. David Robinson injured his back in the preseason, then shortly after returning he broke his foot.

The Spurs had no intention of being bad that season. They just had bad injury luck with Robinson.

 

[Eielson]

The whole "It's Kobe's last year, so we'll let him miss 20 shots again" is a perfect cover story. The Lakers suck, but if they pushed Kobe out of the way and let the kids loose (Clarkson, Russell, Randle), this team could win enough games late in the season to make that top 3 pick too close for comfort.

Even if it wasn't Simmons, the Lakers could really use a guy like Ingram or Labissiere to top things off.

 

[usedtobe1]

The Spurs didn't tank. David Robinson injured his back in the preseason, then shortly after returning he broke his foot.

The Spurs had no intention of being bad that season. They just had bad injury luck with Robinson.

Robinson isn't the only one who had injury problems. It's an interesting discussion and the Spurs don't admit to anything. I don't think the Spurs began the year planning to tank it, but I think it gained momentum and they chose to sit some guys out for the remainder of the season as their season spiraled down hill.

Injuries decimated the Spurs, none more so than that of Robinson, who returned from back problems only to suffer a broken foot. The former MVP appeared in only nine games. Chuck Person was even less fortunate, missing the entire season following back surgery. Charles Smith missed 65 games with an arthritic right knee and Sean Elliott missed 43 games with tendinitis in the right knee. The loss of those four players, each among the top six scorers from the 1995-96 team, prompted the steepest one-year decline in NBA history, from 59 wins to only 20 in Greg Popovich's only losing season of his coaching career.

The truth is it was the Boston Celtics who openly tanked, but the Spurs were lucky enough to get the ping pong ball and the draft rights to Duncan.

 

[One More Rebound]

LSU plays this Sunday against Houston. It will be a good test to see him against a Kelvin Sampson coached team...

 

[One More Rebound]

Thirteen points, fourteen rebounds, and five assists in an overtime loss to Houston. It seems like Simmons is wasted on this underachieving LSU team.

 

[WTSooner]

The truth is it was the Boston Celtics who openly tanked, but the Spurs were lucky enough to get the ping pong ball and the draft rights to Duncan.

Boston didn't tank, they just sucked. Badly. But you are right, it was Boston that should have ended up with Duncan. Sad day when those ping pong balls fell how they did.

 

[WTSooner]

As a Boston fan, I'm hoping the Nets lose every game they play. Would be nice for Boston to actually catch a break in terms of the draft one of these years.

 

[One More Rebound]

Simmons with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists against Gardner-Webb. He has had a double double in eight of nine games this season.

 

[SoopaSooner]

As a Boston fan, I'm hoping the Nets lose every game they play. Would be nice for Boston to actually catch a break in terms of the draft one of these years.

It looks like a potential top 3 pick. Any of the three between Simmons, Ingram, or Brown would fill a big need.

 

[One More Rebound]

Simmons with 36 points and 14 rebounds against Vanderbilt. He is the real deal.

 

[sperry]

Simmons with 36 points and 14 rebounds against Vanderbilt. He is the real deal.

Such a waste of time for him to have a 6 month detour in Baton Rouge.

 

[One More Rebound]

Kentucky at LSU tonight. Ben Simmons vs Skai Labissiere. Simmons will most likely face a smothering defense all night long, and possibly be double teamed. It should be interesting.

 

[One More Rebound]

Labisierre is not NBA ready yet, but I'm sure he'll declare anyway. Simmons only took five shots; if the shots aren't there, he doesn't take them. Also, how was Kentucky rated #9 in the polls?