07-04-2022, 01:24 PM
(07-04-2022, 01:19 PM)SwisherPrice Wrote: The fact that Ben Simmons' shooting issues are mental is WORSE than it being physical or a matter of fixing his form because that's probably harder to get over.
Simmons has made five threes in his entire career. Kidd's lack of shooting was overblown. He wasn't a terrible shooter early in his career, he was just inconsistent. His shooting averages were not too different from a lot of guards in his era. Simmons has attempted 34 threes in four years in the league. Kidd attempted 257 in his rookie year alone
I have no issues with his inability to shoot, to be clear.
The mental issues I'd be worried about are the ones A) keeping him off of the floor at all, and B) making him scared to draw contact in the paint because he's scared of shooting free throws. The second one is a HUGE deal, but it's fairy new. He didn't always have that problem.
I would use him as a screener in the half court, and feel they could work around his lack of shooting if the two concerns above were in the rearview mirror. If they're ongoing, then yeah, bad move to acquire him.
But, it's not the shooting. If you can't envision him as anything other than a primary ball-handler, then sure - the shooting is a deal breaker. To continue playing in this league, he'll need to become a forward/small ball big. This wouldn't have worked in Philly because of Embiid.