A spewful of NBA Draft notes for top 6


This will probably be the most unorganized column in history. I have no outline, except that I want to delve into each team's outlook heading into Thursday.


  • The 76ers have all but publicly confirmed that Ben Simmons will be the first prospect to hear his name called. He can't shoot and it seems to be that he will thrive most as a point forward, which is bit of an issue considering that the 76ers have a logjam of big men that rivals the car congestion in Times Square. I know it sounds crazy, but if the 76ers don't receive a truly good offer for one of their many talented young bigs, they should just roll into the season and see how things go. Call me absolutely insane, but a lineup of Simmons, Saric, Noel, Embiid and Okafor would be unprecedented in the NBA, but boy would it be fun to see what would happen. The trouble the 76ers face is each of their bigs has an identified skill. Okafor is a beast in the low post, Noel can defend and Saric can pass. Embiid of course is a mystery. The team is not fully formed yet, so they don't realize what talents they need from their bigs yet. If they trade Okafor and find themselves without a scoring big, they could be in trouble. Staying tight worked out fantastically for Flip Saunders (RIP) a few years ago when he let the Kevin Love saga roll on and on and on. He ended up with Andrew Wiggins, who is looking more and more that he can be a legit star on a championship team eventually. Later in the draft, the 76ers should target some 3 and D guys like Patrick McGaw and Malik Beasley. 
  • The Lakers have also pretty much confirmed that their choice at 2 is the silky smooth and wiry Brandon Ingram, which is perfect since they have a glaring need at small forward. Going into the draft, their depth at the position consists of Swaggy P, Nick Young and Anthony Brown. Yuck. Adding Ingram to their rising collection of youth fills out positions 1-4 with young, cheap players that have so much room to improve. Proclaiming Ingram as the next Durant is an unrealistic burden of pressure placed upon the young man, but it's not far off to imagine Ingram becoming the type of player Durant is. Getting a big man such as Dialo with the 32nd pick would be a cheap and young replacement for the uninspiring play of Roy Hibbert.
  • The Celtics are such a mystery it's hilarious. No one knows what they are going to do. I'm not even sure if they know what they're going to do. There are so many directions to take. Armed with a star GM and coach duo coupled with gobs of cap space, future draft picks and talented players in their prime, the Celtics should go Best Player Available. Dragan Bender could become their starting 4 in due time, a Lamar Odom type player who is just ultra skilled at the forward positions. Jaylen Brown would further bolster their impressive cadre of two-way wings. Buddy Hield, Jamal Murray or Kris Dunn would be much needed injections of scoring into the backcourt. Bottomline is the Celtics can go so many ways that they are in a great place to come out on top
  • The Suns, barring a shocker, are going with Dragan Bender or Marquise Chriss. They have a desperate need to fill the starting power forward void left open by the Markieff Morris trade earlier this year. Whomever the Suns draft between the two, they will join a team with so many promising young players at all positions such as Devin Booker, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Alex Len and T.J. Warren. The future is bright in Phoenix.
  • The Timberwolves have Karl Towns and Andrew Wiggins. They could draft me with the 5th pick and still be just fine concerning their future win projections. A great fit for the team is to take Bender, someone who if he pans out, would complete a scary young and talented starting lineup of Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Wigging, Bender and Towns. Bender can conceivable stretch the floor and hold his own in space against quick perimeter players, making that whole lineup switchable on defense and explosive on offense. Another route to go is to draft one of the guards, then trade Rubio for an established front court player.
  • Besides Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are a mess. This will be the 4th draft since they selected him and they still have no one closer to a running mate for him. Jrue Holiday is constantly nursing his knee, but even healthy he should be the 3rd or 4th best player on a serious contender. Eric Gordon has underperformed. Tyreke Evans has been pretty blah. Kris Dunn would be the perfect pick with this team at their draft position. He is 22, which lines himself up with Davis' age. He is a beastly defender and seems like the perfect Robin to Davis' Batman. Having two two-way players is a great way to build a winning team.


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