We'll see down the road what happens with Towns and Okafor. Okafor is in a terrible spot with the 76ers ... hard to imagine anybody being terribly successful there. That said he's averaging 17.5 and 7 boards a game as a rookie with a 17.2 PER. That's not terrible. Towns is at 18.2 and 10.5 boards per game with a 22.6 PER. No question he's had the better rookie season.
This very easily could be a situation where I underestimated how good Towns was. There's nothing that Okafor is doing right now that is inconsistent with what I thought he would be.
Simmons will get numbers as a pro for sure. I think the biggest outstanding question with him will be whether or not he can be a winner in the NBA because he definitely didn't squash those concerns at LSU.
Towns is superior to Okafor in every single aspect of basketball except maybe low post scoring. Maybe. Everyone knew Okafor can score down low. He can't do anything else though.
I don't know if Simmons will be a franchise player for a contender, but he will be damn good. He can't shoot, but he has an uncanny feel for a guy 6'10" and his game is perfectly suited for today's NBA that has very few good low post players.
Towns is superior to Okafor in every single aspect of basketball except maybe low post scoring. Maybe. Everyone knew Okafor can score down low. He can't do anything else though.
I don't know if Simmons will be a franchise player for a contender, but he will be damn good. He can't shoot, but he has an uncanny feel for a guy 6'10" and his game is perfectly suited for today's NBA that has very few good low post players.
A baseline for Simmons next year is what Wiggins has been doing for the Wolves, pretty solid but not quite All-Star level play. Give him a couple years though to acclimate and I would expect him to follow what Durant has done in OKC.
Towns is superior to Okafor in every single aspect of basketball except maybe low post scoring. Maybe. Everyone knew Okafor can score down low. He can't do anything else though.
I don't know if Simmons will be a franchise player for a contender, but he will be damn good. He can't shoot, but he has an uncanny feel for a guy 6'10" and his game is perfectly suited for today's NBA that has very few good low post players.
A baseline for Simmons next year is what Wiggins has been doing for the Wolves, pretty solid but not quite All-Star level play. Give him a couple years though to acclimate and I would expect him to follow what Durant has done in OKC.
I kind of think Durant is another Karl Malone in that he's kind of a stats guy, but Sinmons ain't close to that level.
He's a little bigger Blake Griffin without the athleticism. A 20-10-5 guy on a mid tier playoff team. If you pair him with a star, he will shine.
I don't think Simmons is anywhere near KD talent. Can't shoot like KD, and although tall, doesn't have that same freakish length that makes KD unique. Wiggins is a closer comp.
Btw, I like to call Kevin Durrant. It saves me a lot of time and keystrokes. It's what I like to do.
Comments
This very easily could be a situation where I underestimated how good Towns was. There's nothing that Okafor is doing right now that is inconsistent with what I thought he would be.
Simmons will get numbers as a pro for sure. I think the biggest outstanding question with him will be whether or not he can be a winner in the NBA because he definitely didn't squash those concerns at LSU.
I don't know if Simmons will be a franchise player for a contender, but he will be damn good. He can't shoot, but he has an uncanny feel for a guy 6'10" and his game is perfectly suited for today's NBA that has very few good low post players.
He's a little bigger Blake Griffin without the athleticism. A 20-10-5 guy on a mid tier playoff team. If you pair him with a star, he will shine.
Btw, I like to call Kevin Durrant. It saves me a lot of time and keystrokes. It's what I like to do.