Lakers Rumors: Reasons why the Lakers should ignore Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons is definitely being shopped around no matter what the Philadelphia 76ers try to tell you. No matter how good it looks on paper, The Lakers should hang up the phone if Daryl Morey or Elton Brand call looking to make a deal. Lake Show Life breaks down the reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers should ignore Ben Simmons at all costs.

Since the season ended, Ben Simmons has been the center of blame, criticism and the reason for the demise of “The Process”. The Sixers fans being upset is understandable, but the rest of the basketball world is starting to catch up as well. It got so bad that Dwight Howard took to Instagram Live to stick up for Simmons for his performance during the team’s second-round loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Whether Dwight likes it or not, Ben Simmons is now public enemy number one as the 76ers’ scapegoat as soon as they lost a very winnable series to the Hawks. What’s worse, he’s in the minority of supporters in the Philly organization!

• Joel Embiid, Philadelphia’s franchise player threw Simmons under the bus saying Ben’s reluctance to dunk the ball in a crucial point in the game turned the game around.

"I’ll be honest. I thought the turning point was when we – I don’t know how to say it. But I thought the turning point was just, we had an open shot and we made one free throw and we missed the other and then they came down and scored and we didn’t get a good possession on the other end and Trae came back and he made a 3 and then, from there down four. And then I got – it’s on me. I turned the ball over, tried to make something happen from the perimeter. But I thought that was the turning point."

• Then 76ers coach Doc Rivers, who defended Simmons’ game and reluctance to shoot all season said he didn’t know whether Simmons could be the starting point guard on a championship team after the game.
• Philadelphia fans are well known to say worse things (They booed Santa Claus for heaven’s sake!).

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Rich Paul approached the Sixers and trade situations.

"Paul engaged the Sixers on whether it makes sense to work together to find a trade before the start of next season, but no request was made and the sides are expected to continue talking ahead of the July 29 NBA draft and August free agency, sources said. The 76ers are committed to keeping Simmons as a central piece of their franchise, sources said."

Nothing against what Woj just reported because the Lake Show Life staff takes him at his word. Daryl Morey on the other hand…not so much. Remember, the Sixers were trying to get James Harden out of Houston with Simmons as trade bait. Morey is known to make promises to keep players in town and then ship them out in a trade the next week.

Ask Chris Paul…

Rumors of offers came down this week via Jason Dumas of KRON4 News and Bleacher Report. It seems the Sixers are already fielding offers for Ben Simmons. They most recently turned down a deal with the Pacers that included Malcolm Brogdon and a 1st round pick (Presumably the 13th pick in the upcoming draft).

Philly declined, continuing to hold the price tag for an all-star caliber player. This just in to this website, that is not going to happen folks.

Now Ben Simmons’ trade value considering his offensive flaws and his infamous disappearing acts in the fourth quarter of four straight playoff games is at rock bottom. In the next couple of weeks, the question will be…

Should the Los Angeles Lakers get involved in trade talks for Ben Simmons?

Lake Show Life will get their vote in early…NO!

Lake Show Life goes deep into the options of bringing Ben Simmons to Los Angeles to don the purple and gold. Then break down the numerous reasons why Rob Pelinka should tell his secretary to tell Daryl Morey and Elton Brand, he’s out to lunch if they call. 

First, let’s get out the checkbook and the salary cap blueprints!

To get Ben Simmons… All together now! Trade Kyle Kuzma, KCP or try to get a Dennis Schroder sign and trade deal!

Look, this article is not going into the shortcomings of Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and DEFINITELY not Dennis Schroder’s decision to turn down the Lakers’ $84 million contract offer. That’s well documented and aren’t we all tired of talking about it?

If these players had played better, the trade scenarios would be a lot easier. But their trade value is not much higher than Ben Simmons. This is a possible business transaction. Let’s get to the breakdown of the cast of characters.

Rich Paul:

The Los Angeles Lakers are basically full of Klutch Sports clients.

Ben Simmons is represented by Klutch Sports along with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Talen Horton-Tucker, Andre Drummond, and Ben McLemore, for that matter.

Rich Paul’s power broking ability is top-notch hence the fact Anthony Davis is in a Lakers uniform. But with Simmons, this will take some furniture moving. Anthony Davis and the Pelicans were at the end of a contract with no chance of an extension. Simmons’ extension just started with a historically awful postseason performance.

Paul does not have the leverage on Daryl Morey to deal Simmons to a preferred destination as he did to David Griffin.

Ben Simmons: 

It has been reported that Simmons will be sitting out the Olympics with the Australian team to work on his “individual development”. With that being said, get used to a lot of “Carmelo Anthony” style pickup game videos like these.

The Sixers (and Rich Paul!) will sell Simmons as a very good overall player that rebounds, gets a team into transition quickly and makes sharp passes. On defense, he is a versatile and all-NBA performer. It will be on the Sixers or any team where Simmons gets traded to solve his shooting and scoring woes by the playoffs.

Financially, there are few pathways to matching the $33 million Simmons is owed for 2021-22 which is the second of a four-year, $177 million deal at $146,684,160 remaining.

The Lakers’ options:

There are not many based on the cap situation of the Los Angeles Lakers, but these are the two scenarios to make this deal.

Number one:

Rob Pelinka could package (Guess who?), Kyle Kuzma ($13 million in 2021-22),  KCP ($12 million), and Montrezl Harrell (Assuming he picks up his $9.7 million player option and agrees to the trade), and the No. 22 overall pick in the upcoming draft (Around $2.4 million).

To the certain folks that keep bringing up the Stepien Rule, STOP!  It’s very easy for these two teams to work out this deal if both sides WANT it to work out. 

Number two:

Rob Pelinka could explore a difficult sign-and-trade scenario involving Dennis Schroder (Who wants a reported $100-125 million for his next deal) or Talen Horton-Tucker, their restricted free agent who could receive a “poison-pill” contract under the Gilbert Arenas provision that pays him $9 million in 2021-22, then his salary balloons in the coming years.

Since both players are free agents, they would have to approve a sign-and-trade for the deal to go through.

Are any of these scenarios worth the trouble? Nope. Here’s why the Lakers need to ignore Ben Simmons at all costs. 

Ben Simmons is afraid of the free-throw line. He can’t stay on the floor in crunch time.

The Lakers are still in search of a third star to form a “Big Three” with LeBron James and Anthony Davis that will transition to the championship-caliber second star when James presumably leaves in 2023.

Ben Simmons is not that guy. It’s not because he can’t shoot…it’s because he won’t.

His regression on offense cost the 76ers an opportunity for a championship and will hamstring the Lakers for years if they make the move. Simmons entered the league as a player with great passing skills who can attack the basket. His biggest problem was shooting, but it was assumed that hard work would improve that area of his game.

(Checking the calendar) It’s been about five years now. First, the running joke was his reluctance to shoot the 3 pointer. It basically got Brett Brown fired for his inability to reach him. Now it’s news if he will take a simple mid-range jump shot. If he is not on the fast break or in the paint, he won’t shoot.

Now free throws? UGH!

Ben Wallace and DeAndre Jordan were not counted on for their offense for their playoff teams. Ben Simmons is. Confidence is everything in basketball and when a player admits to struggling mentally as Ben has, it’s going downhill rapidly.

A similar situation played out like this back in the 1995 NBA Finals with Nick Anderson of the Orlando Magic. Anderson was one of the important stars along with Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. However, when he missed those four straight free throws in Game 1 of the Finals in crunch time, his confidence was shattered and his career never recovered.

Ben Simmons is going down that road. He is not taking any shots and it throws off the offense. With him on the floor, his team is basically playing four-on-five on offense especially in the last quarter.

The Los Angeles Lakers can barely afford getting Simmons in at roughly $146 million over the next three years. They CAN’T afford this type of effort (Or lack thereof!) to keep their championship window open!

It’s been five years with no improvements. Why? Well here’s another reason the Lakers should ignore any offers for Ben Simmons. Read on…

There are leaks that Ben Simmons does not work hard enough to win a championship!

Ben Simmons is an All-Star, but that doesn’t mean that he can be a star. Stars affect games on both ends of the court. Stars affect the way opposing teams plan for games. At this point, the curtain has been pulled on Simmons’ limitations and it is starting to catch up with his talents.

There are social media videos of him supposedly getting better in the offseason, then the season starts and fans get more of the same (Or less!). Great talent gets players the league and brings success and a lot of money. But hard work ethic is the difference between champions and regular players.

Simmons seems content with where he is at in his development according to Stephen A. Smith.

Okay to the Stephen A. Smith haters out there that think he’s throwing Ben under the bus, how about his teammate, Danny Green who had real insight on what was really going on on his podcast “Inside the Green Room”.

"“You can tell Ben’s the type of kid if he’s not encouraged, if he’s not pushed or forced to do it, he’s not the type to take that risk.”"

The Lakers have a laundry list of players at a fraction of the cost that need encouragement when it comes to shooting the ball.

• Alex Caruso
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
• Kyle Kuzma
• Wesley Matthews
• Marc Gasol 

The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have time to force basketball shooting 101 on Ben Simmons. By the time he figures it out, the championship window will be closed.

If the Los Angeles Lakers paid their cable bill and watched Game 7, they will ignore Ben Simmons!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, this picture shows why the Lakers need to ignore making a deal for Ben Simmons. You see two players that were struggling to shoot the ball in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. You also see one player that made sure his team wouldn’t lose and another that was the reason his team lost.

• See Trae Young shot 2-16 from the field through three quarters. But it didn’t stop him from hitting this huge 3 pointer in Ben’s face. He finished 5-23 from the field but had 7 points in the final quarter to help Atlanta close out the game.
• We’ve discussed that Simmons did not shoot and did not score a point in the last frame and shot 2-4 for the game. Ben Simmons actually brought up the fact that Young didn’t shoot well and brought up his 13 assists. 

There’s the difference. Basketball is not all about analytics and stats. If that was the case, Lakers fans would still be hearing about the NBA’s number one rated net defense.

Daryl Morey and the 76ers know Simmons’ value is at an all-time low, and the organization is working diligently to avoid another Markelle Fultz situation. The separation is coming, it’s just the Sixers are cleaning up the PR disaster after they lost Game 7.

There you have it. Complete coverage of the Ben Simmons’ ties to the Lakers over the next few weeks. The rumors are coming. A word to Rob Pelinka, ignore the temptations of the “Big 3” dreams and go another route.

You’ve been warned.