Philadelphia 76ers: Top 10 Prospects to Watch, 3rd Edition

As I must’ve tweeted out a couple of times (at least) in some form, Lonzo Ball stresses me out. A lot. In terms of guys who are tough to get a read on, Ball ranks at the very top of that list. His inconsistent play style and combination of overwhelming positives and irking negatives have sent him back and forth in my personal rankings as of late.

With that said, there’s no denying the potential. He’s a gifted passer, and holds the title of best facilitator in this class with no objections. At 6-6, Ball sees the floor incredibly well, and has dished out some of the more impressive passes of this college season en route to leading an undefeated UCLA team to second in the country.

He’s also stroking threes at a high rate off the catch — despite a painfully funky release — and has found ways to score in transition as well. My main concern stems from his lack of penetration at times. He doesn’t score well off the bounce, and tends to stay towards the perimeter at times rather than attacking the interior, especially against elite defenders.

Where he fits with the Philadelphia 76ers

This is perhaps the most odd fit of any point guard. While his size and passing skills bring excellent versatility, just how well he’d mesh with Simmons and company is up in the air. His facilitation skills are his proverbial bread and butter, and that could limit Simmons given his lack of scoring — or vice versa.

Nonethless, he’s simply a special talent. Ball is a generational floor general in some respects, and has enough upside elsewhere to warrant the Sixers taking a very serious look at him. Even with his awkward stroke, Ball shoots a high percentage from deep — 45 percent — and has the size and explosiveness needed to develop a scoring game off the bounce.

I wouldn’t expect much scoring out of Ball early on, which is somewhat of a non-starter from a Sixers’ point of view. Regardless, however, he’s too talented not to take a look at. It’s really that simple.

Expert’s Opinion — Jeremy Woo, SI.com

"It’s clear after a month of college games that Ball is a unique sort of artist with the ball in his hands, serving as the engine for a high-powered Bruins offense. He’s a special passer with great size for a pure point guard. With even more space to operate in the NBA, he’s going to continue making his teammates better. But there’s also been a degree of overhype around him of late that’s inflated expectations somewhat. I suspect he may be more of a super-sized Ricky Rubio than anything else, contributing across the board statistically but less of a star than his preceding narrative suggested."

Big Board Rankings:

• Big Board 3.0 — 1
• Jeremy Woo — 9
• DraftExpress — 4
• Sam Vecenie — 6