Ben Simmons (and Rich Paul) Want the Lakers to Win the Lottery

[Tr1boy]

Rich Paul has consistently rubbed me the wrong way.

With all the questions about Simmons character, choosing Rich Paul as an agent could be another reason for concern (really though, what agent comes off well?).  Although it might be a little easier dealing with Paul if the player he's representing is always getting max contracts (which Simmons foreseeable would).

Paul's too high profile, and maybe because of that he seems to always be looking out for his own best interest, not his clients.  Adidas offered $10m and Nike offered $7.5m, well then it would be in the best interest of his client to sign with with adidas, but best interest for Paul is to sign with Nike.  Don't get me wrong, he's being a good agent trying to get more money for his client, but to me everything he does seems like he's looking out for himself first, and his client second.

Maybe it's the Kool-Aid talking (Oh yeah!), but as jpotter33 just said, is LA the best place for Simmons career?  Better than Boston?

In a perfect world, where the C's draft Simmons #1, in the back of my mind I'd be worrying about Paul.  Seems like the kind of guy to try to orchestrate the creation a super team in a high profile market (not Boston).  He wants to influence coaching changes and front office decisions, and Danny's never going to let him have any influence here.  Rich Paul with a superstar client is not a good mix for most franchises.  I'd worry about Simmons (because of Paul)  leaving after his rookie deal or trying to force his way out mid contract.

Well Simmons chose him. Don't only blame Paul

Maybe they are alike in their thinking

[Banner18now!]

That's not really a shocker though. I think most young players want to be in a large media market with endless endorsement opportunities and more potential revenue streams.

I'm of the mind that a player should want to end up in the best situation for him to succeed on the court. One could certainly make the argument that LA would be a good landing spot for Simmons in a basketball sense, but he seems to be interested in LA solely for branding reasons. Does that really show the dedication to winning that you want from a potential number one overall pick (especially one whose desire to win has already been questioned)?

He should be more worried about getting an outside shot than worry about his branding. Hopefully he goes to LA were he can throw up bricks form the outside but his branding will be tight and that's all that matters.

[saltlover]

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers to lose their pick.  My biggest fear is Lakers get the third pick and Simmons forces himself to there.  If the Lakers have no pick, that's that.

But he's from Australia.  I would expect he'd want LA instead of Boston, due to proximity alone.  He might not even know where Boston or Philly are on a map.  That his agent believes his shoe deal can be 33% more only adds to that.  I second disliking Rich Paul and anyone associated with him, but I suppose his job is to get his client the most money.  He's generally done that.

I don't think he could "Kobe" himself to LA in today's NBA.

If the Lakers got a top 3 pick, I think he could.  He'd/his agent would just refuse to meet with or work out for any other team, causing others to have to choose blind or not choose at all.  Another team still might do it, but it's a risk.  If the Lakers don't have a pick, there's no way they can force a trade.

[max215]

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers to lose their pick.  My biggest fear is Lakers get the third pick and Simmons forces himself to there.  If the Lakers have no pick, that's that.

But he's from Australia.  I would expect he'd want LA instead of Boston, due to proximity alone.  He might not even know where Boston or Philly are on a map.  That his agent believes his shoe deal can be 33% more only adds to that.  I second disliking Rich Paul and anyone associated with him, but I suppose his job is to get his client the most money.  He's generally done that.

I don't think he could "Kobe" himself to LA in today's NBA.

If the Lakers got a top 3 pick, I think he could.  He'd/his agent would just refuse to meet with or work out for any other team, causing others to have to choose blind or not choose at all.  Another team still might do it, but it's a risk.  If the Lakers don't have a pick, there's no way they can force a trade.

It wouldn't really work, though. Paul could try to convince LA to overpay for him, but if the team with #1 or #2 wants to keep Simmons, then he would be **** out of luck. He could refuse to sign, but then he'd have to wait years for the team to renounce his rights, I think.

[saltlover]

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers to lose their pick.  My biggest fear is Lakers get the third pick and Simmons forces himself to there.  If the Lakers have no pick, that's that.

But he's from Australia.  I would expect he'd want LA instead of Boston, due to proximity alone.  He might not even know where Boston or Philly are on a map.  That his agent believes his shoe deal can be 33% more only adds to that.  I second disliking Rich Paul and anyone associated with him, but I suppose his job is to get his client the most money.  He's generally done that.

I don't think he could "Kobe" himself to LA in today's NBA.

If the Lakers got a top 3 pick, I think he could.  He'd/his agent would just refuse to meet with or work out for any other team, causing others to have to choose blind or not choose at all.  Another team still might do it, but it's a risk.  If the Lakers don't have a pick, there's no way they can force a trade.

It wouldn't really work, though. Paul could try to convince LA to overpay for him, but if the team with #1 or #2 wants to keep Simmons, then he would be **** out of luck. He could refuse to sign, but then he'd have to wait years for the team to renounce his rights, I think.

But if you're picking #1 or #2, are you really going to take the risk that you want this kid who won't talk to you?  Rich Paul really likes getting his way, and he'd work really hard to make that happen.

[jpotter33]

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers to lose their pick.  My biggest fear is Lakers get the third pick and Simmons forces himself to there.  If the Lakers have no pick, that's that.

But he's from Australia.  I would expect he'd want LA instead of Boston, due to proximity alone.  He might not even know where Boston or Philly are on a map.  That his agent believes his shoe deal can be 33% more only adds to that.  I second disliking Rich Paul and anyone associated with him, but I suppose his job is to get his client the most money.  He's generally done that.

I don't think he could "Kobe" himself to LA in today's NBA.

If the Lakers got a top 3 pick, I think he could.  He'd/his agent would just refuse to meet with or work out for any other team, causing others to have to choose blind or not choose at all.  Another team still might do it, but it's a risk.  If the Lakers don't have a pick, there's no way they can force a trade.

It wouldn't really work, though. Paul could try to convince LA to overpay for him, but if the team with #1 or #2 wants to keep Simmons, then he would be **** out of luck. He could refuse to sign, but then he'd have to wait years for the team to renounce his rights, I think.

But if you're picking #1 or #2, are you really going to take the risk that you want this kid who won't talk to you?  Rich Paul really likes getting his way, and he'd work really hard to make that happen.

I think so. Maybe the first pick chooses Ingram instead, but I'd guarantee that the second pick would take Simmons regardless. There's just too much of a jump between two and three to not take that chance.

Unless he plans on not playing in the NBA for five years, the team has ultimate control of him for 9 years with his contract. These are kids that we're talking about, too. Their mood will change once they settle in.

[saltlover]

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers to lose their pick.  My biggest fear is Lakers get the third pick and Simmons forces himself to there.  If the Lakers have no pick, that's that.

But he's from Australia.  I would expect he'd want LA instead of Boston, due to proximity alone.  He might not even know where Boston or Philly are on a map.  That his agent believes his shoe deal can be 33% more only adds to that.  I second disliking Rich Paul and anyone associated with him, but I suppose his job is to get his client the most money.  He's generally done that.

I don't think he could "Kobe" himself to LA in today's NBA.

If the Lakers got a top 3 pick, I think he could.  He'd/his agent would just refuse to meet with or work out for any other team, causing others to have to choose blind or not choose at all.  Another team still might do it, but it's a risk.  If the Lakers don't have a pick, there's no way they can force a trade.

It wouldn't really work, though. Paul could try to convince LA to overpay for him, but if the team with #1 or #2 wants to keep Simmons, then he would be **** out of luck. He could refuse to sign, but then he'd have to wait years for the team to renounce his rights, I think.

But if you're picking #1 or #2, are you really going to take the risk that you want this kid who won't talk to you?  Rich Paul really likes getting his way, and he'd work really hard to make that happen.

I think so. Maybe the first pick chooses Ingram instead, but I'd guarantee that the second pick would take Simmons regardless. There's just too much of a jump between two and three to not take that chance.

Unless he plans on not playing in the NBA for five years, the team has ultimate control of him for 9 years with his contract. These are kids that we're talking about, too. Their mood will change once they settle in.

It's a big risk tho.  As I say, I hope the Lakers don't get their pick to get rid of the drama

[jpotter33]

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers to lose their pick.  My biggest fear is Lakers get the third pick and Simmons forces himself to there.  If the Lakers have no pick, that's that.

But he's from Australia.  I would expect he'd want LA instead of Boston, due to proximity alone.  He might not even know where Boston or Philly are on a map.  That his agent believes his shoe deal can be 33% more only adds to that.  I second disliking Rich Paul and anyone associated with him, but I suppose his job is to get his client the most money.  He's generally done that.

I don't think he could "Kobe" himself to LA in today's NBA.

If the Lakers got a top 3 pick, I think he could.  He'd/his agent would just refuse to meet with or work out for any other team, causing others to have to choose blind or not choose at all.  Another team still might do it, but it's a risk.  If the Lakers don't have a pick, there's no way they can force a trade.

It wouldn't really work, though. Paul could try to convince LA to overpay for him, but if the team with #1 or #2 wants to keep Simmons, then he would be **** out of luck. He could refuse to sign, but then he'd have to wait years for the team to renounce his rights, I think.

But if you're picking #1 or #2, are you really going to take the risk that you want this kid who won't talk to you?  Rich Paul really likes getting his way, and he'd work really hard to make that happen.

I think so. Maybe the first pick chooses Ingram instead, but I'd guarantee that the second pick would take Simmons regardless. There's just too much of a jump between two and three to not take that chance.

Unless he plans on not playing in the NBA for five years, the team has ultimate control of him for 9 years with his contract. These are kids that we're talking about, too. Their mood will change once they settle in.

It's a big risk tho.  As I say, I hope the Lakers don't get their pick to get rid of the drama

I hope the Lakers lose their pick just because they're the Lakers. You don't need any other reason than that! 

[Greyman]

I think the article itself was pretty thin evidence of anything. Along with shoe contracts I am sure all the top prospects are getting dizzy with the number of things that are presented to them. Simmons has good basketball ability, nobody is saying he is a financial genius or capable of sorting all this stuff out for himself.

Simmons and Paul can't pick teams to come first or second in the lottery, so longer term considerations like who is most likely to be successful in the next few years are beyond their control, shoe contracts they can look at. If Paul was doing his job well he would be telling his client that the Celtics are on the verge of being one of the greatest basketball dynasties since...the Boston Celtics, and he could make more long term by being a winner there.

[LilRip]

This is all pre-draft. Pierce hated the C's growing up and I'm guessing when he was drafted, in his mind, he went "ahh, crap".

Id still take him on this team.

[TheSundanceKid]

Simmons is a laker fan so its not too surprising to see any story come out about him benefiting from going there. However it is worrying that Rich Paul is his agent. I look at LeBron and the decisions he and his team have made and it's basketball second. I don't think Simmons will carry teams like LeBron has so it'll basically be a mirror situation but less successful.

I do still think he's the top prospect but it does give me pause.

[ThaPreacher]

Simmons you will Paul Pierce it and love being a celtic

Lol. Ain't that the Truth!

[Tr1boy]

With what we know, can we assume Simmons and agent hangs up phone when 76ers call him to come in for a workout?


The only team I see Simmons working out for is for the lakers.

[droopdog7]

With what we know, can we assume Simmons and agent hangs up phone when 76ers call him to come in for a workout?


The only team I see Simmons working out for is for the lakers.

Doesn't mean anything anyway.  It's not like the kobe situation; he was drafted after #10.  In this case, if simmons is viewed as a franchise player, the sixers will not pass him up regardless.

[Tr1boy]

With what we know, can we assume Simmons and agent hangs up phone when 76ers call him to come in for a workout?


The only team I see Simmons working out for is for the lakers.

Doesn't mean anything anyway.  It's not like the kobe situation; he was drafted after #10.  In this case, if simmons is viewed as a franchise player, the sixers will not pass him up regardless.

Yes ,but you really want to bring in a player that does not want to play for you?