YOU can forgive Aussie Ben Simmons for trying to throw just a tiny bit of shade at LeBron James.
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Milwaukee rounded out the top 10 with Thon Maker, originally from South Sudan, and Orlando followed with Domantas Sabonis, whose rights were quickly dealt to Oklahoma City along with Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova for forward Serge Ibaka.
Being the top overall selection in the NBA Draft will come with enough pressure, and it is never good to poke a bear.
Exum will be on the comeback trail from a torn ACL when his Utah Jazz start their 2016/17 campaign in late October and earlier this week said he hoped Simmons slipped to the Los Angeles Lakers with the second pick so both would be playing in the NBA’s Western Conference.
As expected, Simmons becomes the second Australian to be taken first overall after Andrew Bogut in 2005.
The last No. 1 pick from LSU was Shaquille O’Neal – who will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with Iverson in September.
Australian teenager Ben Simmons has taken the biggest step towards superstardom by being selected first in the 2016 NBA Draft, but he is still eager to show up one of his best mates.
“I am a 6-10 point guard”. Joel Embiid, the No. 3 overall pick of the ’14 draft, is inching closer to returning to the court and make his National Basketball Association debut after missing the last two seasons with foot injuries.
Q: On going to dinner with the Lakers’ young core when he was in Los Angeles for his predraft workout: Ingram: It was great. And I don’t know [what Simmons’ position will ultimately be]. “But when they picked me, just a sigh of relief left me and I’m happy I’m here”.
“And other guys were like, it should be them”. I just know that he is that versatile and that it’s a good problem to figure out. We’re going to make sure we distribute the effort across the board. “…I would expect it to be nothing more than a formality, but to be cautious, we will call it at this time probable”. “I’m not pissed off or – oh, I’m not angry or anything”. “But I am back at the bottom now”.
While Simmons just had his first Philly cheesesteak only recently, he needs no introduction to his new head coach.
The 76ers selected Simmons with the No. 1 pick Thursday night in the draft that opened with three straight freshmen.
“I think we have a lot of talent, a very young team so going to a team like this, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of chemistry to build. I’m very excited being a part of the team and I’m looking forward on joining them”, he said.
“What I learned is there’s a lot of interest in our players, from (Robert) Covington to (Nik) Stauskas to Nerlens to Jahlil”, Brown said.
Tucked in between a historic NBA Finals and a potential game-changing free agency period, the draft might be a little short on star power but not on drama.
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The remaining college players taken in the first round are: Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin (17th, Memphis), Marquette’s Henry Ellenson (18th, Detroit), Florida State’s Malik Beasley (19th, Denver), Michigan’s Caris LeVert (20th, Indiana), St. Joseph’s DeAndre’ Bembry (21st, Atlanta), Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson (22nd, Charlotte), North Carolina’s Brice Johnson (25th, L.A. Clippers), New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam (27th, Toronto), Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere (28th, Phoenix-traded to Sacramento), Washington’s Dejounte Murray (29th, San Antonio) and Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones (30th, Golden State).
