All Signs Point To The Philadelphia 76ers Moving Back Into The Lottery

The Philadelphia 76ers informed former Louisiana State forward Ben Simmons they will take him with the number one overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, as we had reported after Tuesday afternoon’s tweet from Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.

The Sixers also hosted Simmons for a workout at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine yesterday. The workout was not available to the media.

While, Bryan Colangelo, President of Basketball Operations of the Philadelphia 76ers, may have the top pick all figured out, his night will just begin after Simmons walks off the stage with a Sixers hat on his head.

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According to Ford, the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings—who hold picks three to eight—are shopping their lottery picks.

One trade scenario in particular that has been reported and discussed is the Sixers dealing center Jahlil Okafor to the Celtics for the third overall pick.

And recently, the Sixers and Celtics talks for the third overall pick have been intensifying, according to Tim Welsh of Comcast SportsNet New England.

Many aren’t quick to pull the trigger on dealing Okafor because of his offensive skills that helped him record 17 points and seven rebounds per game in 53 games this season.

But, the Sixers really have no choice due to the logjam in their frontcourt, and the Celtics, who have a logjam in their backcourt are the perfect trade partners.

Ford on The Joe DeCamara Show on 97.5 The Fanatic, said Okafor doesn’t possess enough value to get the third overall pick from Boston.

"“I think that now, several weeks of gauging that interest around the league has lead them to them conclusion he might not be as valuable as they once thought,” Ford said. “I think they went into the process asking the question: ‘Would we trade for the number three pick, or number four pick, or number five pick for a guy like Okafor? Would that be good value for us?’ And I think they walked out of that scenario saying ‘We don’t think we can actually get that for Okafor right now.’”"

If the talks with Boston crumble, other teams like the Suns and Timberwolves could be destinations for Noel or Okafor.

It’s unlikely the Suns are willing to deal Devin Booker, who finished fourth in rookie of the year voting, but they too have talent in their backcourt the Sixers could be interested in.

According to NBADraft.net, Rich Paul, Eric Bledsoe’s agent, is pushing to have him out of Phoenix this offseason. Paul also happens to be Simmons’ agent.

Bledsoe has battled knee injuries throughout his career, however, his offensive skillset may interest a team planning to take Simmons on Thursday night. Bledsoe, 26, signed a five-year $70 million contract with the Suns in 2014.

With Tyson Chandler, a defensive prowess starting at center, Okafor’s offensive game would be the perfect complement, albeit more likely as a power forward.

The Sixers could negotiate the fourth overall pick and Bledsoe from the Suns by offering up Okafor, the 24th overall pick and 26th overall pick. Even in that proposal, the Suns will most likely expect more from the Sixers.

But with the pull Colangelo and his father, Jerry Colangelo, have in Phoenix, it wouldn’t surprise me they were able to pull some strings in order to get a deal done.

Buckle up Sixers fans. Keep refreshing your Twitter feed. A trade is coming in the next couple of days.