Half baked trade idea

[Ed Monix]

Not a fully fledged concept but just a forum gauge,

76ers: Tristin Thompson, Marcus Smart, Payton Prichard, 2 future 1st round picks (protected)

Celtics: Ben Simmons

I'm sure Boston fans say no and 76ers fans say no but it intrigues me given how much of a distressed asset Simmons has become. I believe most of his regression is mental and he has been playing out of position since his sophomore year. Perhaps with a fresh start he would be willing to switch shooting hands and push himself to prove everyone wrong (e.g Nash to Phoenix).

Horford
Tatum
Brown
Nesmith
Simmons

Even though this line up has Ben Simmons at point guard, if the ball isn't his in his hands he operates as a false centre in the post with the rest of the starting five as shooters around him.

[nickagneta]

Philly fans should love this trade. Smart is every bit a great defensive force in the backcourt as Simmons. And Smart can hit threes and won't hit free throws in the playoffs at a 35% rate.

And they get Thompson and picks.

Simmons is the singular most overrated player in the NBA. I want nada to do with Ben Simmons. He is as good at 24 years of age as he was at 18. There is definitely something wrong with that that should make GMs not want to trade for him.

[PAOBoston]

Simmons is a very good player. I do not think he can be your second best player like he is in Philly and I honestly think Philly has misused him and put him in situations to fail. If he’s like your 3/4 best player, he would be great. He’s an excellent defender, plays the swing position, can handle the ball, and is great on the fast break. Sadly, he gets paid like a top player so his current value doesn’t match his salary. That being said, the Cs would have a formidable defensive trio of JB/JT/Simmons at the wings though. Switchability for days.

[Ed Monix]

Philly fans should love this trade. Smart is every bit a great defensive force in the backcourt as Simmons. And Smart can hit threes and won't hit free throws in the playoffs at a 35% rate.

And they get Thompson and picks.

Simmons is the singular most overrated player in the NBA. I want nada to do with Ben Simmons. He is as good at 24 years of age as he was at 18. There is definitely something wrong with that that should make GMs not want to trade for him.

Perhaps you're right about Simmons, but it is very evident to me he isn't playing up to his potential. At the start of the season he was on fire then after the all-star break, something changed. I may be wrong but I believe he only trains with his brother, so he may be loyal to a fault and needs to shift to a world class trainer who will advise him correctly. I think the media's portrayal of Simmons being the second coming of Magic Johnson has done him no favours, if you view him as a rich man's Boris Diaw or like a more athletic Draymond Green then he wouldn't cop so much flack.

[BudweiserCeltic]

No thanks.

[gouki88]

So we'd have 3 max players and a near-max in Horford (albeit not in the last year of his deal). That's a lotttt of money tied up in 4 guys, 2 of whom are either ancient or incredibly flawed. No thanks

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I'm in. I think Simmons would be the perfect fit next to Horford, Tatum, and Brown, as long as you have another shooter on the court.

[gouki88]

In case you didn't just see that last play live, Simmons gave up an open dunk because he's a) too scared to take a shot, and b) concerned with his passing stats. He's too far in his own head.

We don't even have a coach hired yet. We'd need one with a sports psychology background to fix Simmons

[DefenseWinsChamps]

In case you didn't just see that last play live, Simmons gave up an open dunk because he's a) too scared to take a shot, and b) concerned with his passing stats. He's too far in his own head.

We don't even have a coach hired yet. We'd need one with a sports psychology background to fix Simmons

I saw it. I also heard fans booing him earlier in the game.

The fanbase turned on him. He needs a fresh start. He's still one of the best defenders in the NBA and an elite passer. He's also great in the open court.

[BudweiserCeltic]

In case you didn't just see that last play live, Simmons gave up an open dunk because he's a) too scared to take a shot, and b) concerned with his passing stats. He's too far in his own head.

We don't even have a coach hired yet. We'd need one with a sports psychology background to fix Simmons

I saw it. I also heard fans booing him earlier in the game.

The fanbase turned on him. He needs a fresh start. He's still one of the best defenders in the NBA and an elite passer. He's also great in the open court.

He'd get booed here as well. Appreciation of his game aside, we're giving way too much for him.

[slamtheking]

In case you didn't just see that last play live, Simmons gave up an open dunk because he's a) too scared to take a shot, and b) concerned with his passing stats. He's too far in his own head.

We don't even have a coach hired yet. We'd need one with a sports psychology background to fix Simmons

I saw it. I also heard fans booing him earlier in the game.

The fanbase turned on him. He needs a fresh start. He's still one of the best defenders in the NBA and an elite passer. He's also great in the open court.

let him get a fresh start elsewhere.  kid is having a complete meltdown this series and showing he's grossly overrated as a player

[Goldstar88]

Sure you’re not fully Baked? 

[Ogaju]

In case you didn't just see that last play live, Simmons gave up an open dunk because he's a) too scared to take a shot, and b) concerned with his passing stats. He's too far in his own head.

We don't even have a coach hired yet. We'd need one with a sports psychology background to fix Simmons

I saw it. I also heard fans booing him earlier in the game.

The fanbase turned on him. He needs a fresh start. He's still one of the best defenders in the NBA and an elite passer. He's also great in the open court.

let him get a fresh start elsewhere.  kid is having a complete meltdown this series and showing he's grossly overrated as a player

He will end up in LA.

[slamtheking]

In case you didn't just see that last play live, Simmons gave up an open dunk because he's a) too scared to take a shot, and b) concerned with his passing stats. He's too far in his own head.

We don't even have a coach hired yet. We'd need one with a sports psychology background to fix Simmons

I saw it. I also heard fans booing him earlier in the game.

The fanbase turned on him. He needs a fresh start. He's still one of the best defenders in the NBA and an elite passer. He's also great in the open court.

let him get a fresh start elsewhere.  kid is having a complete meltdown this series and showing he's grossly overrated as a player

He will end up in LA.

was thinking the same thing and that'll be good for us.  overpaid which will kill their cap, not a scorer nor much of an offensive threat and a huge liability at the end of games

[Celtics2021]

Ben Simmons would be a fine player at $15-20 million (i.e Marcus Smart money), but he doesn’t seem to be able to handle the pressure of being a max player/franchise type guy.  If we hadn’t made the Horford trade, I’d have been curious if we could have made a deal that converted Kemba to Simmons, since we already had a max guy who couldn’t live up to the deal, but I wouldn’t move Smart, picks, and other salary for him at this point.  That’s a broken player.