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That would be a good and fun idea. But my favorite idea is just starting the season with Fields.

Even Rondo has increased his willingness to shoot the ball later in his career. He's not great at it or at the FT line, but he's willing to get to the line or take an open shot. Prime Rondo didn't really shoot the ball much, but he also was not a max contract or a #2 option. He had KG, Pierce and Allen to do the scoring. With the money Simmons is making, you can't surround him with the 3 scorers you need to make up for his lack of shooting. Simmons averaged 10 shots a game, making 55%. Rondo never shot more than 12 per game, and after age 29 never averaged double digit shots. Simmons shot 61% from the line this year, Rondo was a career 61% FT shooter, with some much worse years than Simmons ever had. The contract situation is obviously very different, but unless you think this playoff stretch is what he'll be going forward, I think he's definitely a second/third piece with 2 proven scorers and a Clarkson/idealized Coby White type off the bench. It's not necessarily what I expect going forward full-time, but it'd be nuts to assume this won't happen when the lights get bright again. Simmons is a worse FT shooter for his career than Rondo (59%). And his shot attempts have gone down from 10 to 8 and 11.5 to under 10 in the playoffs the last 2 years. The difference in shooting percentage can be summed up by 6'10 vs. 6'1, which is where Simmons maintains some value. 76ers had that blueprint you speak of with Embiid, Harris and Curry and it still wasn't good enough. I said in the Bulls thread though that i'd be willing to give Simmons a shot with LaVine, Vucevic and Coby White and hope having the top option be a wing instead of a C would help. But I wouldn't give up anything worthwhile to take that shot.

Even Rondo has increased his willingness to shoot the ball later in his career. He's not great at it or at the FT line, but he's willing to get to the line or take an open shot. Prime Rondo didn't really shoot the ball much, but he also was not a max contract or a #2 option. He had KG, Pierce and Allen to do the scoring. With the money Simmons is making, you can't surround him with the 3 scorers you need to make up for his lack of shooting.

I actually love Simmons' fit with the Bulls, but I'm not trading anything worthwhile to get him. Obviously, you aren't trading LaVine or Vucevic. Patrick Williams is untouchable. Wouldn't trade Coby or draft picks. I'm talking Al-Farooq Aminu, Sato and Thad for salary match purposes.

The Sixers have had 3 top 2 picks in the last 11 years. All 3 of them (Evan Turner, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz) have developed crippling mental blocks to the point where they either physically couldn't or wouldn't shoot the basketball. Turner and Fultz have basically played themselves out of the league or to roles where they are buried on the bench. Simmons will hang around for at least 4 more years (mainly because he pockets 140M+ in this time), but interesting to see where his career goes from here. Clearly needs a change of scenery, but if I'm a team I wouldn't take him for much more than a salary match trade. Maybe the Sixers can get CJ McCollum if the Blazers want him to get a change of scenery and think they can fix Simmons, but I wouldn't do more than other disappointing big salaries. I'm talking Otto Porter, Pistons Blake Griffin type contracts. Simmons is not 25 til next month, but I don't remember anyone being able to turn it around with these type of mental blocks shooting the ball.

Bears signed former Chiefs (and Packers) NT, Mike Pennel today. Seems like the team isn't sold on Goldman being in and/or ready to go in camp in 6 weeks. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

That was my first reaction as well. He looks slimmed down. I wonder if he's not as padded up as he'll actually be on gamedays. I don't think I can even fathom how fast he's going to be if he is actually slimmed down just a few pounds.

I think its overwhelmingly likely Dalton starts week 1, and he's obsessed with repeating 'the Mahomes experience' but I definitely think the door is opened at least a crack if Fields destroys the preseason. I think it's mostly coach speak. It's not like the QB job is a 50/50 competition like it was last offseason between Foles and Trubisky. Nagy is tempering everyone's expectations for Fields and letting us know it's not the end of the world if Fields doesn't start Week 1. I think the Bears have a "plan" for Fields, but I don't think it has anything to do with what people have speculated as getting Fields against an easier defense than the Rams, or waiting until the bye week, or waiting until the OL shows they can protect him and Dalton well enough. The "plan" should be all about Fields. When can he run the offense well enough to be the best guy to win games. I think Nagy has hopes that it will be Week 1, but if it's not, that's fine as well. I do think Dalton will be the guy Week 1. If there's any doubt on Fields he won't be in there. But Nagy's not an idiot. There's very little reason to waste time with Dalton with him being 34 and on a 1-year deal just because Mahomes sat for a year. I fully expect Fields by Week 5 at the latest

Young Joc! It's goin' down!

Yadi imploding is soooo fun

I agree 17 games is too long but I don't think playoff contraction is the answer. I'd rather do "Student athletes can only play in 15 games" or something and keep this proposal than go back to the BCS days. Keep it at 4 teams. What's the motivation for expansion other than money? Sure teams like Coastal Carolina get a chance, but it's not much of one. It's not like we've been saying in the playoff era, "boy if only that midmajor got a shot against historically good Clemson, LSU and Alabama teams".

It was a shortened season so only 10. But yeah, normal season would be 16 for FCS title game participants.

I feel like I'm always close to being alone on this hill, but I hate playoff expansion....every iteration of it. 10 years ago, the national champ played 13 games. Last full season LSU won at 15-0. They aren't going to cut out conference games because Ohio St. played 6 conference games and there were some that took exception to them even being in the playoff in a season that was shortened anyway. They aren't going to cut out non-conference games because then you get questioning a team's schedule if they run thru an easy conference. So, if you don't shorten the regular season, you have teams potentially playing 17-game schedules. Look at 2019. Georgia had their 12 game regular season schedule Play powerhouse LSU in the SEC Championship. Just missed the playoff, but would now be an extremely capable 5th seed. Pretty safe bet they beat the #12 team in the first round. Could go either way in the 4/5 game. Now they get the #1 team in a rematch in the semis, familarity, ability to adjust, can see a scenario where they win and play game 17 for the title. You can't talk about the safety of football and then make college kids play NFL length seasons (for free), while they're supposed to be going to school and maintaining certain grades, when like 90% of them won't even play professionally to even make it worth their while to do all this for free.

Kemba Walker would make me lose whatever interest I'd have in the 2021-22 Bulls. It'd be the Carlos Boozer, 36-year old Dwayne Wade, Rip Hamilton of moves. Good player in name only at this point of his career, that it doesn't make sense to sign to add to a young core for such an expensive cost.

He didnt You'd both lose your money. I don't know the totals or percentages of plays under center, but a quick google search reveals 13 snaps under center in his 1st career start in 2019, a year after Dwayne Haskins took 0 snaps under center as the Ohio St QB.

Lifelong Suns fan here. That Denver series is going to be nuts. I still don't know what to think about the Jazz or Mavs (or Clippers for that matter). I don't know if either of those teams are good enough to get out of the West or win a title. Obviously the Jazz has the best record, but they seem vulnerable to me. Mavs need more help for Luka. Clippers seem like a team that will get better as the playoffs go on, but they are an L away from being done. So much is going to come down to health. Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Joel Embiid, Porzingis are all clearly under 100%. I honestly think Denver has the best shot to come out the West. Jokic is that good right now. I'm rooting for the Bucks to pull out that series, but Nets are the team to beat obviously.

Buy from their own store.

I thought the key was getting the guy out at 1st though. A 6-4-3 means getting the batter out at first. The batter reached first, I thought that was the determining factor. Nope. If the final out is a force out, it doesn't matter what base it's at. That run won't count. Yeah, I was thinking because the batter reached first and there was only 1 out when he reached that that mattered. But yeah it's still a force play and not a tag.

Guessing because it was hit in the outfield. Legit outfield, not inbetween area

There were force outs at 2nd and 3rd for the last two outs of the inning. We got unlucky that the ball was hidden behind Pham rather than rolling away where the runners could see it. Yep, from a scoring perspective, it has the same effect as a routine inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. I thought the key was getting the guy out at 1st though. A 6-4-3 means getting the batter out at first. The batter reached first, I thought that was the determining factor. Ah, nevermind. I'm stupid.

Wait, why wouldn't that run count?

Listening to Padres broadcast and they somehow think the game is still tied.

Bears showing interest in CBs (Steven Nelson and Breshaud Breeland) and had OT Morgan Moses in to visit today. Leno officially off the books today, the Bears have about 8.4Mil in cap space (9M saved from Leno cut, 600K salary takes his spot on the to 51 salaries which are counted toward the cap). The Bears need to sign all their draft picks, so that money is even less. Fields and Jenkins are the main salary cap hits upcoming as the 5th-7th round rookies won't fit in the top 51 salaries at their draft slots....at least not yet. So, interesting that the Bears are looking at FAs still when they essentially have 4.5-5Mil in effective space when accounting for rookies. CB and OT are the biggest needs IMO. Need a CB so the Bears only have to replace 1 DB spot instead of outside CB across from Johnson and slot CB with the recently bad and old, Trufant, and the cast of late picks and UDFAs they have. And they have 0 experience at LT, so depth behind Jenkins would also be ideal. Moses is actually really good too, so he would be an upgrade over Ifedi at RT, and has played LT in the past in a pinch. Be interested to see if they make Ifedi a $4.5M swing tackle or put him back at RG and move Daniels or Whitehair back to C.

Ryan Tepera for MVP!

I don't just blame the first baseman the more I watch that play. The catcher gotta know what's going on. They're supposed to be the smartest/captain on the field. He's asking for the throw home. He has no reason to even be there, it's not a true rundown situation. Let Javy go all the way to the plate, it doesn't even matter. It's like Javy depending on them being stupid, and they were.