Likely No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft in Ben Simmons doesn’t even plan on giving the Lakers a sit-down meeting
Ben Simmons is almost surely going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Though this has been assumed for quite some time—before the college basketball season ever tipped off even—at least a few doubts have been raised in the past few months.
However, Simmons just had his first sit-down meeting with any team in the 2016 NBA Draft and was of course with the team sitting at No. 1 in the draft, the Philadelphia 76ers. Apparently the selection is such a formality at this point, though, that other teams aren’t even getting the time of day from the Australian LSU product.
As reported by ESPN’s Chad Ford, the Los Angeles Lakers won’t even be getting a sit-down with Simmons as the Sixers did:
As of right now, Lakers are NOT getting a similar sit down with Ben Simmons. https://t.co/GDI21NqLIv
— NBA Big Board (@chadfordinsider) June 17, 2016
While it’s clear that Ford is marking this report with a big “Subject to Change,” that it is less than a week out from the draft and the word all about is that the Lakers and Simmons won’t be meeting all but confirms that neither party feels that there’s a shot of Simmons dropping to No. 2.
Many Lakers fans will obviously be pleased with this for a number of reasons, chiefly because there’s a strong contingency that believe Brandon Ingram is the better prospect and he’s certainly the more natural fit into the young core already in place for the Lakers.
However, fans also have to consider the possibility that Simmons and the Lakers have met in a more hush-hush type of setting. After all, Simmons was photographed with his friend and Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell recently. Who knows if anything was passed on or discussed at that time.
Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?
Leading up to the draft, nothing is ever 100 percent certain. All signs are certainly pointing towards there not being a Russell-Simmons Montverde reunion in Los Angeles.