shopson67
Well-Known Member
Please name 1 other than the obvious (Boston)
You are way undervaluing Simmons here. He is still on a rookie contract for the next 1.5 seasons before he hits RFA
After considering how good he is currently, + his future upside + his contract, there aren't 5 players in the entire NBA with more current trade value than Simmons. And AD is not one of them because he is only under contract 1.5 more years.
5.5 years of Simmons is worth more than 1.5 of AD to any non-contender.
That's all great and all, but what do the Pelicans need? They have play makers (Jrue has a long contract, Payton will be a free agent) and PFs even without AD (Mirotic, Randle, Diallo). Where does Simmons fit? The Pelicans need scoring wings and a center if AD is going to be moved.
The Celtics are immediately the best fit, but will they want to give up the players that the Pelicans will want (and they have the picks). The Lakers have young pieces, but they most likely aren't enough in return. The Kings and Suns could make significant offers of young players. I'm not going to go through the entire league, as I'm sure there will surprise offers from unexpected teams, but there will be plenty of options.
As far as value, that rookie contract doesn't help a lot when you're trying to acquire a player in trade that costs exceedingly more. What other bad contracts does Philly offer to balance out the salaries? Cost isn't the ultimate determination of value either, especially when we're talking about a top 5 player in the league.