There was a time when those tall, multi-faceted PGs were valued in the NBA. You know what I'm saying? Like you can't have it all type shit. So dude may not be able to shoot, but at least he's tall, plays defense and can run the point, thus creating matchup problems for the opposing team.
For example, Magic Johnson like couldn't shoot for shit. His shooting form was uglier than Markelle's even on Fultz's worst day. But you're not going to bench Magic because all of the other attributes he brings to the team. And there were even smaller PGs back in the day who couldn't shoot per se but could at least run a team and defend to some degree, the likes of Doc Rivers or Tyronne Lue for instance, and no one was out dissing them like they didn't belong in the NBA.
All of that changed with the advent of the Splash Brothers. Now, the only active small PG I can think of who like can't shoot is Patrick Beverly. And as for the tall, multi-purpose PGs, your career can really only go in one of two ways.
First, it could go the way of Michael Carter-Williams. Here's a fun fact: Carter-Williams was actually one of Sam Henkie's first two picks with the Sixers in 2013. And early on he did outperform Nerlen Noels, the Philly-chosen draftmate who preceded him, in that Michael won ROY in 2014.
So right now as we speak, you have this former ROY winner, only being 31 years old, sitting somewhere without a contract. Yes, he's had a couple major injuries in the past, but who hasn't? What really happened to MCW was a few years back niggas was like 'oh, he can't shoot', and that was the beginning of the end of his career.
Alternatively you have the likes of Shaun Livingston, who's even a couple of inches taller than MCW. Livingston never averaged double-digit points in his entire career, nor are his rebounding and assist numbers anything to write home about. But the difference between him and Carter-Williams is that he didn't spend his NBA days playing on exclusively on garbage teams. Instead, Shaun eventually found his way to Golden State, playing alongside Steph and Klay, meaning that no one really gave a damn if he could shoot or not.
So Livingston retired after 15 seasons being regarded as one of the most notable utility players of this era. MCW, who to reiterate was Rookie of the Year and was also better statwise, hasn't even lasted a decade. Meanwhile, their sizes and abilities are more or less identical. So what I'm saying is that the reason Shaun is a respected vet and Michael someone no team gives a damn about is because fate blessed them both in terms of height + dribbling ability but dealt them different hands in regards to rosters.
So then, you have Ben Simmons. Simmons is most identical to Magic in that even though his jumpshot is suspect, still he's a respected scorer and even an all-star. And everything was allgood because on the low, the Sixers are arguably the best team in the NBA when it comes to building a roster. So you have Embiid and Butler and Harris and Curry and Covington and Saric and Reddick and Maxey all those other gifted scorers who passed through Philly in the past few years, and people could beef about Ben not jumpshooting, but no one really cared because it didn't particularly matter playing with those dudes.
That is until he passed up that dunk during the 2021 ECFs - some shit I wrote about before in terms of how some people, including within the Sixers' organization, overexaggerated the significance of that play, thus making Simmons a scapegoat. That chastising affected the young Ben so much that he had to deadass take a season off type shit.
And that was the point in his career, when he was being traded from Philly, that he could've either gone the MCW or the Shaun Livingston route. Luckily for him, Daryl Morey is now with the Sixers, who's like to James Harden what Tom Thibodeau is to Derrick Rose. So there were other attractive players to be had at the time, but he went with the Beard and sent Simmons to the Nets.
Whether or not KD + Kyrie is as good as Steph + Klay is of course a matter of debate, or in the very least remains to be seen. But in terms of confidence to chuck on top of the ability to score, I would imagine that neither Irving or Durant are the types that a defender actually looks forward to guarding.
So whether he realizes it or not, Simmons lucked out landing in Brooklyn. He's a star player who's skillset, theoretically, would be welcome on most NBA teams. But if he had gone to a squad that struggles to score, like MCW did time and time again, people would be out there pushing a narrative like he's garbage or some shit. In fact the vultures were already circling at beginning of this season, but of course us true gurus knew that Ben was exactly what the Nets needed, so long as he asserted himself type shit.
CONCLUSION
So as for me personally, I'm not surprised that the Nets look like contenders now. The most important piece in the puzzle turned out to be Nic Claxton, who did something very impressive in my eyes - which was actually get better after KD publicly dissed him, because that's the kinda mentality you need playing alongside those diva types like Durant and King James.
And it isn't like Ben Simmons is out there killing it statwise like he was doing in Philly. In fact, I would imagine he's making more money than any other player who isn't averaging more than 8 of anything. But the most important thing about his fit with the Nets is that he's a perennial all-star guard who is pass-first, thus making him perhaps the most unique player in the entire NBA. And you can imagine what those wild and free teams like the Houston Rockets could do if they had that type of stabilizing presence, i.e. a tall PG who would rather pass/rebound than shoot and who also went to the All-Star Game three years straight before personally deciding to sit a season out.
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