Now that Philly is officially on the clock, the front office has a huge decision to make. Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram are the top prospects in the latest player rankings and each brings a different style of play.
Simmons is a do-everything 6’10” forward from LSU. The youngster is an excellent ball handler, terrific passer, and solid on the boards, but he does need to improve his offensive game to become a true star.
Ingram is a true small forward with terrific scoring abilities. The former Duke star improved throughout the year, but he will need to add some bulk to his frame to play against at a high level over the course of a long NBA season.
While the 76ers are the big winners, the LA Lakers aren’t far behind as the team had to stay in the top-3 to keep their first round pick. General manager Mitch Kupchak would love for Simmons to wear the ‘purple and gold’ next season as his style of play will help Los Angeles draw interest from the games best free agents.
While these two players are clearly the top of this years draft class, make no mistake they aren’t the only young men that will make an impact in the league over the course of their careers.
This year has several big men available and a few, while projects, will become serviceable centers. Boston is picking third and if they decide to keep the pick, adding some size in the paint is necessary for this squad to reach that next level.
Seven-footer Dragan Bender from Croatia has been linked for the past few months to the Celtics at this spot in the draft, but rumors have also circulated that GM Danny Ainge could package this pick, along with another, to get a veteran big man in the coming weeks, giving his team a good chance of moving up in the Eastern Conference team rankings entering next season.
