I'm not so sure about Simmons. I think he will be a very nice player. Do I think he will be great? Not so sure
I didn't watch the Summer League game but are people really supposed to base/alter their career projections for the #1 overall pick based on a few minutes in Summer League?
Summer league doesn't equate to NBA Career trajectory. I'll hold my opinion on him not being the best player in this draft for now.
Well, it's no fun making 'projections' after 30 NBA games. Simmons will obviously need some time to adjust plus improve his shooting and ability to finish through contact.
An NCAA championship would have helped convince me. I am excited about him, for sure, though. But at LSU, he did have plenty of moments looking disinterested and disappearing, that give me concern he could drift to Lamar Odom's side of the spectrum vs Magic's. Also, one thing I haven't seen (certainly not from the SL minutes) that Magic was the best at was his response to be good transition D. Magic could just dribble right through the defense if he didn't have a pass...and pass or score at the end. Not enough vid yet to see how good his handles in traffic are vs Magic. btw: Magic could shoot. He had an ugly shot (somewhat a set shot) in his first years, but it was effective. He did score 18 ppg his first season and 21 ppg his second...not to mention the 42pt game 6 FTW. His scoring came down as he turned the Lakers into Showtime. But he was able to score when needed.
I know Brett Brown said Simmons could play PG over time, but I think that could make things harder for him in his transition to the NBA, and make him a less unique match up problem. Over time though, if he played PG, he'd be a triple double daily threat like the Greek Freak when Jason Kidd put him at PG full time towards the end of last season.
I watched all his college games. He is a playmaker and sees the floor better than anyone since Lebron / Nash. He will become a force if he wants to.... His offensive drive has to raise up.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good morning. Happy Friday. Get yourself some <a href="https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25">@BenSimmons25</a> highlights. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerSixers?src=hash">#SummerSixers</a><a href="https://t.co/i8ZNhFtW0e">https://t.co/i8ZNhFtW0e</a></p>— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sixers/status/751395408975261698">July 8, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If he has the tireless drive to work on his game the way great players do, Ben Simmons will be a dominant superstar hands down. I want to see him grind through a rookie season with players taking shots at him. Will he get up off the floor and give it right back? Is he hypercompetitive? Is he truly passionate about basketball? A picture should emerge by January or February. Don't judge him by a
