The trade farce about Simmons is still raging, and there is still not much substantive progress. According to reports, a reporter revealed that Popovich's presence will give the Spurs a lot of points to win Simmons: "The Spurs are not just a trading destination, and Popovich's presence will fight for players to join." I heard that if the Spurs could get Simmons, the latter would be happy to play for Popovich. As can be seen from the reporter's words, Simmons and the Spurs are currently friendly with each other.
Simmons' farce arose in the offseason, and the 76ers put him on the shelves during the offseason due to poor offensive performances against the Hawks in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, constantly asking for relevant offers for Simmons. Although Simmons eventually remained with the 76ers due to the high offer, the latter was clearly unhappy with the team's trade and announced that he would not play for the 76ers again. So far in the new season, Simmons has not returned to the team, and has clashed with the head coach in the joint training with the team at the beginning of the season. So, by all indications, it's almost impossible for Simmons to return to the 76ers, who are still actively peddling Simmons.
In fact, since Simmons entered the league and played a great performance, the Spurs and Popovich have always wanted to get Simmons, and they have been working hard to do so, and they have negotiated with the 76ers many times, but they have never succeeded. In the offseason, the 76ers management proposed to the Spurs an offer to exchange four first-round picks plus three draft picks and a young player for Simmons, and although the Spurs were very eager to get Simmons, such an unreasonable offer was of course rejected by the Spurs. At present, there is a new opportunity in the transaction, and due to the delay in the transaction, the 76ers have begun to gradually reduce the offer for Simmons, and the Spurs have a better chance than before. But at the same time, because the 76ers are more interested in exchanging this deal for star players like Lillard, the shortcoming of the Spurs competition is that they do not have good star players to use as chips for the deal.
Simmons' recognition as one of the best head coaches in NBA history, Popovich, is enough to see how impressed Simmons has been in Bobo's heart. Simmons was drafted by the 76ers in 2016 as a top pick, and after being reimbursed for an injury season in his first year, Simmons returned with a very good performance. With his long arms and excellent physical fitness, Simmons is extremely talented both on the offensive and defensive ends. On the one hand, although Simmons does not have a stable outside shot on the offensive end, his breakthrough is very sharp, and he is often able to complete the dunk after the easy breakthrough. On the defensive end, Simmons is one of the few players in the league who can go from the first position to the fifth position, and his extremely long arm span and excellent judgment have made him a first team member of the best defensive team many times.
If Simmons can be obtained, then the Spurs will be very strong this season. So far this season, the Rebuilding Spurs have only finished twelfth in the West, but at the same time they are only 2.5 wins away from the top eight in the West. At present, the biggest problem facing the Spurs is that the team does not have a real star-level player, although Murray, White and other players are very good, but at the critical moment of the game, the team often loses the game because there is no player who can stand up and turn the tide. And if Simmons joins the Spurs, their shortcomings will be solved very well, although Simmons is still very young, but he often behaves very calmly in key moments and is a good big heart player. In addition, Simmons can help the Spurs a lot in terms of organizing the offense and defending from the perimeter, and if simmons are eventually available, the Spurs' hopes of reaching the playoffs this season will be greatly increased.
From Simmons' point of view, the Spurs' tactical system is very suitable for Simmons' style of play. First of all, the lack of stable shooting ability is known to be Simmons' biggest shortcoming, and this shortcoming was infinitely magnified in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, and the Eagles chose to empty Simmons a lot of times, which made the overall offense of the 76ers very uncomfortable. The Spurs have not always been a team that emphasizes outside shooting, according to statistics, the current average number of three-point shots per game for the spurs is only at the bottom of the league, and the average 10.3 three-pointers per game is ranked second to the bottom of the league. In addition, the Spurs are very focused on winning games through teamwork, and they are currently averaging 27.9 assists per game, which is the second highest in the league. From this point of view, the Spurs do not emphasize outside shooting, and the system that emphasizes multi-point passing is very suitable for Simmons, who is good at organization and not good at outside shooting.
Second, the Spurs have been a team that has been very defensive for many seasons, and during the GDP combination, they are a very famous defensive team in the league, and Popovich himself is a head coach who emphasizes winning games through defense. But in the absence of the team this season, their defensive performance is not outstanding, and the defensive efficiency is only the middle level of the league. Simmons' arrival could help the Spurs solve this well, Simmons' defensive coverage is very large, and in terms of outside defense, Simmons can use the arm span advantage to easily complete steals for passing and dribbling of opposing defenders, and can interfere well with opponents' shots. In terms of interior defense, Simmons is as tall as 2.11 meters, which allows him to change defenses to the inside players at all. In short, if You can get Simmons, then the Spurs can build a very strong defensive system around him.
At present, Simmons has become a typical very difficult player in the league and is considered one of the problem players in the league. Popovich, on the other hand, is a godfather-level manager who is very good at building very close relationships with his players, and he is perfectly capable of playing Simmons' best role, and Simmons himself has expressed his desire to play for Popovich. The most important thing for the Spurs to do at the moment is to maintain negotiations with the 76ers before the trade deadline of this season to finally get Simmons.