The Philadelphia 76ers struck gold in the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery by winning the first overall pick, giving the maligned franchise some good fortune moving forward following years of turbulent seasons. The 76ers will have to find a way to figure out a way to play with so many big men, however, as the top pick will probably bring another forward to the team.
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Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, left, talks with draft prospect Brice Johnson before the start of the NBA basketball draft lottery, Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in NY.
The Philadelphia 76ers prevailed last night, and secured the #1 pick in next month’s NBA Draft. “But some teams think Bender has a chance to be great and one GM said he could easily see the Croatian becoming the best player in the draft in time”.
The Lakers had a 19.9% chance of taking the first pick and an 18.8% shot at the second pick after finishing with the NBA’s second-worst record (17-65). Chad Ford of ESPN reported that Simmons had the slight edge on Los Angeles’ draft board on Tuesday, while Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report said that the team was “wowed” by Ingram during a pre-draft interview at the combine in Chicago while Philadelphia prefers Simmons. They need shooting and perimeter scorers and already appear set in the frontcourt with Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid, so Ingram makes more sense on paper.
More news about the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as their potential trade and draft plans, should be made available in the near future.
But perhaps the best news was what head coach Brett Brown told 97.5 The Fanatic on Wednesday morning following the Draft Lottery. They will have their pick between Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram, but they will also be flooded with trade offers.
Because of a 2013 trade with the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics landed the third overall pick despite finishing the regular season with the Eastern Conference’s fifth-best record. So there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future and everybody’s future in the National Basketball Association and what players that we draft – there are no guarantees. For the time being, we can be happy that something went right for the team. The debate will likely ramp up the closer we get to June 23rd, but for now it’s safe to say Simmons is the Sixers’ guy. We had just gone to the Final Four and I felt like I was an National Basketball Association player. In most scenarios, going wrong with either of the two at No. 1 overall is a practical impossibility, but the Sixers are unique.
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The first overall pick marks the team’s new direction under Colangelo.
