NBA Draft: Ben Simmons Philadelphia 76ers Prospect Watch

Ben Simmons has been projected to be the top overall pick, but is he worth it for the Philadelphia 76ers to take if they receive that pick?

Ben Simmons, an Australian native, has been the largely accepted top overall prospect going into this year’s draft. The only player who has even come close to him on draft boards has been Brandon Ingram. Could he be a future Philadelphia 76ers player?

Ingram has, in some cases, overtaken Simmons and some experts see him as the top pick, but as of right now, Simmons is the most probable player to have his name called first.

The Sixers have the best chances out of all teams at the top overall pick, and the Los Angeles Lakers follow them.

Measurements

Height: 6’10”
Weight: 239 pounds
Wingspan: 7’0.25″

College Resume

Ben Simmons unfortunately has a very small college resume built up. After playing just one year of college basketball at LSU, Simmons’ season was ended quite abruptly, with LSU missing out on the big dance and denying an invitation to play in the NIT. Despite this, Simmons offered a lot to LSU and did a lot to get his name out there as the top overall prospect. He really set a tone that hasn’t been set in a long time. According to DraftExpress “Ben Simmons is fresh off one of the most productive college seasons in recent memory, being the first player to average over 19 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists per game since Ron Harper did so as a senior at Miami Ohio back in 1986.”

Simmons was a first-team consensus All-American. In the SEC, he was first in 2-point field goals made, first in total rebounds, fourth in points per game, and first in player efficiency rating.

Simmons scored 19.2 points, brought in 11.8 rebounds, and dished out 4.8 assists in his sole season with LSU.

Upside and Downside

The upside with Simmons seems potentially endless. This kid has a lot of skill that he’s showing already, and more skill could come out once he gets to the NBA and starts polishing his game with a pro training staff.

The upside with Simmons is that he scores a lot. He scored nearly 20 points per game with LSU this past season, and the Tigers didn’t even score 80 points per game total.

The downside is that he isn’t all that creative with how he scores. A large majority of his scoring comes in the key of the basketball court, and he has not demonstrated much of a 3-point shot at all. Simmons only attempted 3 3-pointers in college, while only sinking one.

While some say that he may have a shot but LSU just told him not to take 3-pointers, I find that to be untrue. If he had a solid range game, LSU and Simmons could have dominated opponents in more than just one way, and they would have had a better shot at making the tournament.

His height is alarming as well, coming in at 6’10”. He has the height of a player that should be a stretch-4 if they were to be a power forward, but none of the shot to make himself succeed in that position.

I’m leery to take a player that’s supposed to be as good as LeBron James that can only impact the game offensively in one area, the key. Of course, with just one year removed from high school under his belt, he’s got some time to develop other areas of his game.

Experts’ Takes

Where Will Simmons Be Drafted?

Ben Simmons will go to the team with the top overall draft pick or the second overall draft pick. Really, it all depends on how the top team looks at things. If they see Brandon Ingram as a more valuable piece to their future instead of Simmons, then Simmons will go second. If not, he will go first. There is almost no chance that he will fall below the second overall pick, unless he happens to injure himself between now and the draft.

Although at the moment I like Ingram more, I do find it hard to rate him higher than Simmons, just because you draft players based on how good they can be in a few years down the road, not how good they are at the moment.

Fit With Sixers

Fitting with Philly is where things get a bit dicey. Does Simmons fit with the Sixers? Well, not exactly. Simmons would be coming into a frontcourt that already has far too many players in it with Joel Embiid coming back from injury and Dario Saric coming over finally.

Simmons, as mentioned, takes a lot of shots in the key, and so do Okafor and Embiid, as well as Noel. Adding another key-only player into that mix will hurt the offense. The Sixers need someone who can make shots at least in the mid-range area.

Next: Okafor Continuing His Education at Duke

That being said, if the Sixers have the number one overall pick, it would be tough to pass on Simmons. If Simmons is going to be as good as some experts think, it may be worth it to draft him and work around his needs, rather than working their pick around the preexisting Sixers needs.