Yeah I see that. But don't know if "lite" is appropriate at this same stage of their careers. He may not be quite the spectacular dunker coming out, but holy crap look how he handles already and passes the ball, plus I think he's probably faster on the floor when he hits that nitrous button on his chest.
Another solid comparison, but he's not as thick as Griffin is. There's a tendency to look at height and weight and assume those things are equal in each person. They're not at all. Two people can be 6' tall and weigh 200 pounds. One might be obese and the other an athlete. Similarly in sports, two guys can be the same height and weight and have completely different body types, athletic ability, etc. In Simmons I see a lot of Griffin with a little less explosion and a lot more passing ability. Simmons is a more fluid athlete while Griffin is likely to run through you.
Yeah, Simmons definitely has the vision advantage over Biff. The fluid athleticism works if say, Luke decides to go for a Golden State style offense with a lot of movement.
That's why for me the comparison is more Lamar Odom for Simmons while Randle might compare more to Blake Griffin.
GREAT article, thanks for posting realdeal. Yeah, unless something unforeseen happens it sounds like the Sixers are pretty locked in on Simmons. Again, either one is great for us, but there's something kind of perfect about Ingram's fit here with our young core that is undeniable. He would slot in at SF which has been our weak point for a long time, or if we go small he could play stretch PF for us with his ability to shoot the long ball. He'll be a big addition for our help defense as he's a nice shot blocker with great length. And he won't crowd the lane which we'll need for Julius and/or a pick and roll center. The spacing will be so much improved with a guy like Ingram.
Ingram's fit here is just amazing. From the DE breakdown of Ingram vs. Durant: -Ingram coming into the NBA is a better spot-up shooter than Durant was. He took 170 spot up threes and scored 1.25 ppp. He shot 41.4% from three on those. -Ingram is already a competent pick and roll ball handler: his passes out of pick and roll in college had over 1.3 ppp. -Durant was a better post player and finisher at the rim in no small part due to Durant being stronger than Ingram. Ingram shows great footwork and potential there. -Ingram's mentality is always to make the right play. He may not be the guy to drop 50 on you like Durant, but he'll do all the little things to help you win. -Defensively he's got good instincts both on the perimeter and as a weakside shot blocker. I mean he's an almost perfect fit for D'Angelo and Julius. Almost perfect. All he needs is about 25 pounds of muscle (mostly in his legs). I'm being a little facetious with the number, but really once Ingram puts on some muscle I think he might honestly be the best player in this draft.
^^ I agree all the way, realdeal. In fact, if the Lakers had gotten the number one pick I wouldn't have been surprised at all if they picked Ingram over Simmons. I am kind of hoping at this point that the Sixers stick to the script and take Simmons. I'd be happy with either player but the way Ingram fits here is just so undeniable. Glad to hear they like him a lot, too, after meeting him.
DeRozan I'm OK with. But I don't want Whiteside anywhere near this team. All these kids don't need to be around a knucklehead like him. DeAngelo probably would become best friends with him on day one.
Whiteside is a perfect fit with this team. It's a no brainer. A lineup of Russell, Clarkson, Randle, Ingram, and Whiteside could not fit better together. Sign a couple of veterans on the bench and we're good to go.
Hearing the Lakers responded well to his interview really got me excited for the possibility of this kid. I know D'Angelo disappointed them a bit with how he approached last season and Julius's stubbornness has been an issue at times. Getting a kid in here that's like Clarkson and is willing to adapt and work and just wants to be great... We need more of that. We need more guys who can bring everything together and get everyone on the same train tracks. So we're talking about a kid with tremendous talent AND a great head on his shoulders? Let's freaking do this!
On paper Whiteside is great. I've been pushing for him all year because I think he's pretty well proven himself. However, the scuttlebutt around the NBA is that most teams are still worried he's doing this for a paycheck. Most teams are worried about his mentality and maturity still despite his tremendous on-court impact. I'm still cool with Whiteside, but John Ireland (aka the Laker mouthpiece) and Ramona Shelbourne both sounded skeptical. Besides, we can probably get a guy like Biyombo who will be cheaper and has a similar impact. Also, I'm still very much in favor of handing Noah a great deal so he can bring professionalism, passion, and be our "Bogut".
With all due respect its not like John or Ramona are never wrong. I don't think anyone knows what the Lakers are gonna do.
Yep. Don't count out Ezeli either. Not quite as good as Whiteside, but similar player with whom Luke is familiar, and would likely be a cheaper option as well. I love Whiteside's fit on the floor, and would like to see if Luke can get his head right over here, but the concerns you mentioned are definitely legitimate.
Sixers coach Brett Brown apparently coached Ben Simmon's dad, has known Ben Simmons since birth, and spent 17 years living in Australia. Bring on Ingram please!
That's true, but where there's smoke there's fire that's all. It just reinforced how the league sees Whiteside right now. I'm still open to him coming here, but it's definitely a risk. I might make other calls to similar players like Biyombo and Ezeli first. If we don't hear what we want, then I give Whiteside a call. He's in play, just not my first option right now. That locker room needs guys who are 100% focused on achieving greatness. I'm afraid Whiteside might not be, I'd need to interview him.
I thought Whiteside had a GREAT playoff run. He was engaged and went at it full on. I had some concerns during the regular season but they were dispelled by what I saw in the playoffs. The guy is a kind of a monster. I think he's really starting to put it together and his numbers bear that out. While I think it's true that Riley's hardcore discipline is probably the best medicine for Whiteside, I'm more than willing to take a risk on his type of talent at a position of great need. I am imagining him playing alongside Ingram and Randle and I think he's almost a perfect fit - big, athletic shot blocker who doesn't need tons of touches but can run pick and roll with Russell. With him and Ingram in that front court I think they cover some of the weakness we saw from Randle in terms of help D. We could improve greatly on D with Whiteside in there. But hey, I like Biyombo and Noah as well. Not Ezeli as much because of the knees, but beggars can't be choosers.
