Wait, you think they screwed over Simmons? They had him as a RFA. Why the would htey have renounced him at the start of free agency? Doing it at all was a massive favor. What a bad take.
Look really close at what I said. I didn't say they "screwed him", did I? I said I didn't like the way they handled it, and that I thought it was a raw deal for him. They were definitely within their rights, but I think they could have cut him loose without a second thought.
They knew they weren't going to sign him. Mostly they had to be pretty sure that they weren't going to match the kinds of offer sheets that he was going to get.
If they had just not done the QO, he would have been free from the start. I'm not saying they had to do that at all. But it would have been better for him if he was free and clear at the start of that FA period. IIRC, he didn't help his own cause by making statements about how much he thought he was worth. I could be remembering that part wrong, but I think he did.
I went on to say that I don't think this was karma for either of those deals. They did what was their right to do, just like Morris did. I don't like any of it. If you do, that's your right, too.