The 76ers are reportedly ‘leaning heavily’ towards Ben Simmons in NBA draft

ALL signs point to Australian prospect Ben Simmons landing with one team after yesterday’s NBA Draft lottery.

Will Ben Simmons be smiling if he lands in Philadelphia?

A DAY after the Philadelphia 76ers secured the first pick in next month’s NBA Draft, all signs are pointing to the embattled franchise using it on Australian prospect Ben Simmons.

Most analysts believe it’s a race between Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram for the sought after No. 1 spot, but the early indication is the Sixers will opt for the Melbourne-raised forward.

Bleacher Report’s senior NBA writer Kevin Ding is confident the Sixers have Simmons as the frontrunner.

“The Philadelphia 76ers are leaning heavily toward taking Simmons on June 23, according to league sources,” Ding reported.

“The 76ers will further investigate Ingram, but they have great confidence in the upside of Simmons, whose ambidextrous athletic ability at 6’10” and 240 pounds comes with innate basketball instincts.”

There are two key figures at the 76ers with strong connections to Australia — head coach Brett Brown and high performance director David T. Martin. Brown knows Simmons best, having coached in the NBL when his father, Dave, was playing.

“I coached Ben’s father a long time ago; I’ve known Ben since he was born,” Brown told USA Today after securing the number one pick. “I’ve known his family since the late ‘80s. Just having that knowledge of where he was raised, understanding that culture — I also lived 17 years in Australia.

“There are a lot of different connections (related to that) that I think help make me better informed. This will help our organisation make a more calculated decision. He’s obviously an extremely talented young man who comes from a great family.”

Brett Brown.

Ben Simmons.

Brown has done the media rounds since winning the draft lottery and made some bold comparisons of his potential future star in an interview with Fox’s Colin Cowherd.

When asked who Simmons reminded him of, the former Boomers mentor named Magic Johnson and LeBron James.

“I feel like you said the one that most people come up with first, and it’s true. You know, he’s got a hint of Magic,” Brown said.

“At times you can see like, a younger LeBron, where you’re not sure what position he is. At one moment you think he’s a four, maybe he’s a three, he looks comfortable handling the ball. When you say what is your identifiable NBA elite skill most people will immediately go to passing.

“You take that collection of comments and you add it into a 6’10” frame, the comparisons to those two players you know, could be a little bit reckless, could be a little bit ambitious, but there’s no denying that he comes to the draft with a very unique skill package.”

Cheer up men, help is coming.

Brown also was not concerned by some scouts’ negative assessment of Simmons’ shooting.

Brown, who was also an assistant coach at the San Antonio Spurs before moving to the 76ers, pointed to how James and Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard were able to work on their shot after entering the NBA.

“I’m just very aware of Ben’s situation,” Brown said.

“I lived in Australia for a long time, I coached his father for five years, I’m aware of his junior coaches throughout Ben’s entire life and when you look at his form - no differently to when we drafted Kawhi Leonard with the Spurs - one of the assessments we had to make was ‘Was this shot transferable to the NBA? Was it a total rebuild or was it a little bit of a makeover?

“I think that his form isn’t one that you have to blow up and start over. I think it can translate.”

— with AAP