What will happen if Sixers will be petty and draft Ingram because Mitch drafted their boy DAR last year.
So what does Philly gain by revealing their cards and telling everyone they're drafting Simmons? I don't know how making that public benefits them. I feel like they're up to something.
Keeping it a secret doesn't do anything either. Everyone and their mother knows Simmons is going 1 to the Sixers who cares?
ESPN has us taking Okafor at like 70%+ last year up until the very last hour until the news leaked out we were taking D'Angelo. Nothing is safe until the commissioner reads the cards.
I don't think Philly publicized it. Philly told Simmon's camp because they want him to feel some loyalty towards them. They want him to know how much they liked him that they weren't going to consider anyone else. Then Simmon's camp told some sources to get the buzz going for their kid.
It seems like Ingram can only shoot from the left wing. He also needs to improve that FT shooting. Anything below 75% is unacceptable for a wing. I absolutely believe Simmons has a higher ceiling than Ingram. He is a great talent with unbeatable physical tools. But he is too cocky and just doesn't have a likable personality. He was asked by a reporter why he never shot a jumpshot in college and he said "I don't need to". I think his arrogance will bite him in the butt when he faces the LeBrons, Durants or Melos of this world and gets torched. His ego won't be able to handle that. His ego will also not handle that he will be losing a LOT OF games in Philadelphia. His primadona attitude will become a problem. He is a great talent but mentally, he is far from ideal and could implode if things don't work his way, which they won't in Philadelphia.
mike fratello compared simmons to magic the other night. at first you flinch in horror, but i wonder if someone had the stones to try playing him at point, would it work out? i'd love to see it attempted again. and i like ingram and feel like he's a natural fit with the current core, but if simmons slips to 2, i'll welcome him with open arms. his ceiling is crazy high, superstar high. i don't think ingram has that. not a slight on him, as i think he'll be very good, and it's unlikely that he won't be at least serviceable as a starter within a couple years. but if you're hungry for someone who could change the fortune of a franchise, that's simmons. not saying he will, but he's the only one in the draft for whom it seems possible. that's why he'll go #1, and if he doesn't, it's why the lakers will snap him up at 2.
I just don't want any last minute surprises like last year. I was sold on the Okafor hype train last year and then all of a sudden Russell came out of nowhere. This year, it's Simmons or Ingram. Those are the clear cut upper tier in this draft, IMO. Anyone else is a huge unknown and a big dropoff on talent. I'm happy with either one of those 2... but if we use the pick on like a Dragan Bender or even Buddy Hield, it'd sully all the feel good moments we had so far this offseason with the Byron firing-Luke hiring move.
I kind of agree, but I think Ingram has superstar potential. I think he's got that in him, it's just a much, much longer road. Simmons though has a physical profile that really separates him and gives him a great shot to be special. That same profile has made him cocky, no doubt about that. I see a lot of LeBron and a lot of Dwight Howard in the young man. He was born gifted and he knows it and nobody has really ever forced him to be grounded. Part of what I love about Ingram is the chip on his shoulder. I don't think Simmons has that chip and the concerns about his mentality a real to me. Still for me it's Ingram and Simmons on top and if we get either of them we win the draft. And yes! I was thinking about him playing PG too. How great would that be? Milwaukee's Giannis is the only one who I think has had the balls to try it in years and I think it's working fairly well. Obviously there's a learning curve, but I think it could work really well given Simmons' athleticism. The only issue: does he want to work hard defensively?
"Hungry." The same hungry that didn't lead his team to make the tournament? He could end up like Vince Carter or Dwight with all the tools in the world, ceiling through the sky, but drive and a killer instinct is what wins games. Ingram was a huge factor in his HS and collegiate program's success.
WAT?? Come on Medina ....step your game up. (JK it's an OK read) "Shaw then added that Ingram arrived with a heavy appetite, eager to add more weight and muscle on his listed 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame."
