That would be LSU forward Ben Simmons, who the Sixers interviewed and had dinner with Thursday in Cleveland.
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Simmons, 19, is expected to be selected No.1 by the Philadelphia 76ers at next Thursday’s NBA Draft in NY.
What we do know is that Simmons will likely be going No. 1 overall to Philadelphia with the Los Angeles Lakers picking up former Duke forward Brandon Ingram at two.
The 76ers will be keeping their pick and using it on Simmons, the Aussie who had a disappointing season at LSU due to bad coaching but still looked like the best prospect in this draft despite his team’s struggles.
Simmons averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, and almost five assists per game in his freshman year at LSU.
It appears Ben Simmons will be heading to Philadelphia. Ben Simmons, the 6-foot-10 teenager from Australia, agreed to a private workout with the team early in the morning in front of an audience that included team owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer.
Simmons has been the frontrunner for more than a year to be the No.1 draft pick, despite being unable to lead Louisiana State University to the NCAA Tournament.
Nine years later, the Celtics president of basketball operations is again primed to pull off some offseason magic, and he’s hoping a cache of draft picks he’s collected can serve as both his four-leaf clover and magic wand. “I don’t get paid by the Sixers, so I’m not going to answer that”. “I think at the end of the day, they feel like Simmons has the highest upside”, he added. There will be no drama up to the draft of who will go first with them taking Simmons.
Simmons. He has too many on-court positives (ball-handling, ability to initiate the offense, versatility) to bypass in favor of Ingram.
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The second spot, titled “It’s Real Now”, features additional National Basketball Association talent – Karl Anthony Towns, Devin Booker and D’Angelo Russell – giving Simmons some much-needed advice on life after the Draft. We’ve heard they may be planning to trade up, which already indicates that Doc Rivers may be embracing the need to finally make the most of some rookie talent and build a roster with a little more emphasis on youth. He was essentially a one-year wonder for the Friars and is suspect at times on defense, but his improvement was about getting more opportunities.
