NEW YORK — Could all the tanking finally pay off?
Patient fans of the Phialdelphia 76ers certainly hope so.
After years of tanking, the Sixers were rewarded Tuesday night with the No. 1 pick in next month’s NBA Draft and will have their choice of former LSU point forward Ben Simmons and former Duke forward Brandon Ingram.
“‘I’m thrilled for our city and the fans of Philadelphia,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said at the New York Hilton Midtown after the Sixers edged the Lakers and Celtics, who will pick No. 2 and 3, respectively.
The Sixers had the best odds of winning the No. 1 pick at 26.9 percent. This is the franchise’s first No. 1 selection since they selected Allen Iverson No. 1 in the 1996 draft.
Asked if he knew which player his team would select, Brown said, “No, we do not.”
Brown said the team’s top priority was to improve its point guard situation, but the franchise is expected to choose between the two long frontcourt players, Simmons and Ingram.
“When you look at the top of this draft, it’s almost a position where you can’t go wrong at 1 or 2 or 3 even,” said Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo. “There’s a very good player at No. 3 in this draft, so we feel comfortable that tonight is just another reinforcement in this process.”
Simmons, an Australian who did not play in the NCAA Tournament in his lone season at LSU, is a lifelong Lakers fan and it’s no secret that he would like to play in Los Angeles.
He’s on record saying, “You can catch me on the Lakers next year.”
Still, Brown is familiar with Simmons, having coached two Australian pro teams and the Aussie men’s national team. He lived in Australia for 17 years.
“I coached Ben’s father a long time ago, I’ve known Ben since he was born,” Brown said. “I’ve known his family since the late 80s so just having that knowledge of where he was raised and understanding the culture…There are lots of different connections that I think make me better informed.
“He obviously is an extremely talented young man and I think that he comes from great stock with his family.”
Simmons is considered a better rebounder and more of a facilitator than Ingram, who is the better shooter and better defender at this point.
“Everybody’s looking for the elusive legitimate two-way players,” Brown said. “We feel like we have a great stockpile of NBA bigs [Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor] and even some 4/3 men like Dario Saric or a Jerami Grant type.”
Not 20 minutes after winning the No. 1 pick, Brown was asked if the Sixers might trade the pick.
“I have no idea what Bryan’s going to do,” Brown said. We will talk about it with owners, we will talk about it as a staff.”
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY RESULTS
1. Philadelphia
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Boston (From Brooklyn)
4. Phoenix
5. Minnesota
6. New Orleans
7. Denver (From New York)
8. Sacramento
9. Toronto (From Denver via New York)
10. Milwaukee
11. Orlando
12. Utah
13. Phoenix (From Washington)
14. Chicago
The following is the order for the remainder of NBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm:
15. Denver (From Houston)
16. Boston (From Dallas)
17. Memphis
18. Detroit
19. Denver (From Portland)
20. Indiana
21. Atlanta
22. Charlotte
23. Boston
24. Philadelphia (From Miami via Cleveland)
25. Los Angeles Clippers
26. Philadelphia (From Oklahoma City via Denver and Cleveland)
27. Toronto
28. Phoenix (From Cleveland via Boston)
29. San Antonio
30. Golden State NCould all the tanking finally pay off?